Project CASL - Sarge Salman at TEDxBaltimore

Members of the community converged to develop and launch a remote simultaneous sign language interpretation platform, CASL, enabling deaf TEDx attendees to stream the sign language interpretation on a tablet while online viewers enjoy the same interpretation remotely. This is unprecedented, and Project CASL represents an inaugural TEDxBaltimore effort to tackle "problems worth solving."

The TED mission, and the TEDx mission is,
"Ideas Worth Spreading"

... and it is a laudable one, in fact,
and it's a lot of fun.

But there are some challenges in this
world in fact,

that will not succumb to a great idea.

You have to develop and deploy
solutions to defeat them.

I like to call these opportunities,
"Problems Worth Solving."

Today, you're going to learn
about two projects,

where members of the Baltimore
community came together.

And I like to call them
a forced collaboration,

because they didn't know each other,

but have committed to work together
to launch and deploy

a solution today at TEDxBaltimore.

And the first one is called
Project CASL (Castle).

For the TEDxMidAtlantic conference
that was last October,

I had recruited a fellow
by the name of Derek Braun.

Derek is a geneticist. He's on the faculty
of Gallaudet University.

Derek is deaf.

And in early April, on April the 1st,
I went down to meet him.

April the 1st, no joke.
(Laughter)

On my drive back, I started thinking,
like a little hamster on the wheel.

I've been in Baltimore about 2 years
at that time, and I've been out,

I've gone out. I've been to conferences,
workshops, theater, so forth,

and I had never encountered
a sign language interpreter.

Which fundamentally meant that, in fact,

I had never shared an experience
with a deaf person.

Now I know the Deaf
certainly are among us,

and we are sharing public spaces,
roads, restaurants...

...but how can this be normal?
It's weird, I thought.

The reality is, that for a variety
of excuses and failures,

a minority group within society
has become isolated from the rest.

The Deaf community, you and me, are being
deprived of opportunities to interact.

And these are experiences that would
augment us all, and enrich society.

We are being deprived of that.

So how does something like this
come to be acceptable?

Today? In America? Anywhere?

I don't know. I really don't.

Well... At TEDxBaltimore we decided
to make it unacceptable.

April the 1st, I met Derek Braun.
May the 3rd, I'm up in New York

to run our first test…
...and this is the scene.

Working with a pair of interpreters,
Chris Tester and Natalie Atlas.

So you see on that far monitor,

this is the feed from TEDxDelrayBeach
coming off the web in Florida.

And right above that little monitor
facing Chris, is a little webcam.

and it's capturing his interpretation
and this is what our viewers online saw.

On one side Chris, and on the other side,
the TEDxDelrayBeach

And low and behold, it worked.
Simple as that.

And this is simply a web browser, a page.

And what I learned was, that in sign
language, clapping is like this

So, what we had demonstrated,
was that

no matter where the interpreter is,
where the conference is,

we can combine them on stage,
for Deaf viewers anywhere.

And this is not even a platform,
it's a web browser. Neat, huh?

And the website is ProjectCASL.com.

April 1st, May 3rd, January 31st.

Today we launched Project CASL.

(Applause)

And these are
the 4 volunteer interpreters,

in this case, they're working
downstairs backstage.

And in fact they really are pioneers.

They volunteer their time
to come and be part of this.

And today, we actually
raised the stakes even more,

We are broadcasting
into the audience, into iPads.

If you are using Project CASL,
could you please stand?

It's not working?
Okay, well, technical difficulties.

The idea was they'd be sitting there,
and we'd be broadcasting

into the audience on iPads.

We'll get it to work
by the end of the day.

Fundamentally,
this is extremely important.

This is a community event about bringing
people together, and that is the vision.

Now, it's pretty big, you know,
April 1st, January 31st, pretty awesome.

There's another reality though,
I want you to understand is that,

I don't want you to think
this was all fun and games.

In fact, it was fun,
but it's been challenging.

I've been talking to everyone,
who would listen.

And to some in fact who wouldn't listen.

You know about this, if it's so simple,
why don't we do it? It's a simple browser.

And some people asked me questions,
you know,

is it appropriate to pay,
a professional interpreter?

Not to pay the interpreter to volunteer?

How would you prepare the interpreters?
How will the Deaf community receive it?

And 60 other questions.
And you know what, I don't know.

But I know this, what we are doing today,
has never been done before.

And I recognize that some of the questions
that these people are asking me,

and I will tell you, some of these critics
are in the audience, I see them.

Some of the questions they raise,
are in fact legitimate,

and they are very important,
but Project CASL comes first.

Project CASL needs to succeed, so we can
get to the point that we can

tackle the important questions.

If CASL fails, the questions are moot.
Project CASL must succeed first.

So I hope you join me in supporting
Project CASL, because I strongly believe

that this is a "Problem Worth Solving"

(Applause)

And to members of the Deaf community,

I want to say this,

I am committed to developing
a sustainable business model

to unleash CASL across Baltimore,

and make it available to any TEDx
organizer in the world.

Hell, even at the the big TED
conference in March.

and I look to rely on your help
and your insight.

and your help and your insight.

Thank you very much, this is certainly
a "Problem Worth Solving". (Applause)