A deaf student in State Fair Community College’s GED program is one of the first persons in a community college setting to use a prototype of a device that can provide freedom of communication to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The Ubi-Duo™ was unveiled Friday at the college by David and Jason Curry, the father-son team who serve as founder and president of sComm, Inc., developer of the product. David Curry, the inventor of the device, is from Sedalia and Jason, who is deaf, lives in Kansas City. Jason is a graduate of Smith-Cotton High School. David is a graduate of Sacred Heart High School.

“Our total mission is to provide freedom to people who are deaf and hard of hearing,” said David Curry. “The UbiDuo™ allows them to express thoughts, emotions, and personality freely. It also offers dignity, mobility, in-depth conversations with family members and others, and employment. This device is life changing.”

The Ubi-Duo™ is a two-screen, two-keyboard, electronic device that enables people who are deaf or hard of hearing to easily communicate face to face with persons who are hearing—without an interpreter or using sign language. 

It folds over on itself, is portable, lightweight, and designed to be used anyplace, any time. It is wireless, and operates in real-time. It functions as a simultaneous/real-time TDD, and can connect to other PDAs, such as Blackberry, Sidekick, and cell phones.

It is composed of two sides, which can remain attached or separated, each with a full-size keyboard and a split screen. Users type the conversation. The Ubi communicates simultaneously in real time with 12 lines of text remaining on the screen at any time. The Ubi is battery powered and also can be connected to electrical outlets for long-term use. It is not a laptop; it is a communication device. 

SFCC President Dr. Marsha Drennon said the college plans to buy two UbiDuos™ for use by students.

The idea for the device was born in 2001 when the Currys were having breakfast at a local restaurant. They became frustrated because they couldn’t communicate with each other in an involved discussion at the same level as if each were hearing. At home, David Curry drew a picture of the device he envisioned, and Jason immediately knew it could meet the need of deaf and hard of hearing people to freely communicate without barriers.

David Curry applied for a product patent in 2001. David and Jason Curry then founded sComm, Inc.. In 2003 the company received a Phase I grant from the National Institutes of Health for feasibility testing. In 2005 the NIH approved a Phase II grant for prototype production. sComm received the product patent in December 2005.

“Using the first grant, sComm tested a mock device with more than 100 people,” said David Curry. Official results showed 99 percent preferred the Ubi to using an interpreter, writing notes or lip reading for overall effectiveness in face-to-face communication, clarity and complexity of information, comfort level, and the ability to display nuances of conversation, he said.

SFCC business instructor Julie Cook volunteered her own time to create the format for all data entry for lengthy questionnaires used in Phase I testing. The results were published in a 127-page booklet for the NIH.

The Currys said more than 24 million Americans are deaf or hard of hearing and struggle with basic, everyday personal and business situations.

“It can be frustrating, costly, and time consuming to rely on alternatives,” said Jason Curry. “Being deaf myself, the Ubi has had a major impact on my life and in the running of my company. I have meetings with people who are hearing without having to scramble around to find an interpreter on short notice or having to sit side by side in front of the television videophone and wait for the delay from the interpreter.  I am able to hold one-on-one meetings with people anywhere I go with the Ubi.

“When a salesman drops by in a surprise visit, I just grab the Ubi and we sit down and start communicating.  I used it recently at my wife’s class reunion and talked with many of her friends. It has been the most liberating time of my life both in my work environment, my other business dealings, and socially.”

The UbiDuo™ meets the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for the deaf or hard of hearing, said Mr. Curry.

Full-scale production of the units is set to begin in September at Pivot in Lenexa, Kan.  For more information, visit sComm’s Web site at www.scommonline.com.