Responding to
the Digital Divide
Working to enable information
access for
everyone
The rise of the 'information society' is accelerating.
SoftBank is providing opportunities to leverage new technologies
in order to create an environment where people
can freely access information,
whatever their
location or background.
Through initiatives to eliminate the digital divide,
SoftBank
is aiming for a society where anyone can aspire to their dreams and
goals.
What is digital divide?
It refers to the disparity between those who have access to information and communication technologies such as the Internet, computers, smartphones, and tablets and those who do not. It is also called information disparity. Specifically, the disparity is based on location, age, income level, educational background and availability of human resources.
- Supporting youth with special needs
- Using AI to create an environment where everyone can talk smoothly
- Safe and comfortable smartphone solutions for people of all ages
- Supporting the use of technology in teaching leadership to youth with special needs
- Supporting hearing-impaired people's “Right to Know” through mobile phones
- Promoting ways to resolve the digital divide through providing information communication devices for free
Supporting youth
with special needs
Since 2009 SoftBank and EDUAS have been working with the University of Tokyo Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology to jointly conduct the Magic Lamp Project, a case study project utilizing mobile device functions for children with special needs.
Participating schools receive loans of tablets and the personal robot Pepper*1 as the project explores the potential of ICT as a means of communication and recognition based on studies such as those in which children with difficulty in verbal communication were able to communicate with text on a mobile device display, or developed an understanding of the abstract concept of time and the meaning of “hold on a second” by studying a picture of a clock timer on a mobile device.
This research has generated substantial results, such as cases where children who found it difficult to communicate verbally with others in words becoming able to better express their feelings and desires in their own words through conversing with and programming Pepper.
Through the use of ICT, children are able to do things that they previously could not, raising their level of motivation. We intend to expand our activities to enable children to discover even more of their inherent capabilities.
As an educational initiative for children with special needs, the Magic Lamp Project has received high praise.
- [Note]
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*1
Provided at no charge in connection with SoftBank Group Corp.'s Pepper Social Contribution Program.
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*1
Using AI to create an environment
where everyone can talk
smoothly
The University of Electro-Communications (UEC), a national university corporation, and our company are working together to create a communication tool called SureTalk. Developed an interactive communication system using sign language and voice, and to learn sign language.
Configuration and component technology of interactive communication system between sign language and speech
The SureTalk system consists of a core engine and a sign language database. The core engine part consists of a sign language recognition part that converts the sign language of the hearing impaired into text and notifies the people without hearing disabilities, a natural language processing part, and a speech processing part that converts the speech of the people without hearing disabilities into text and notifies the hearing impaired.
Safe and comfortable smartphone solutions
for people of all ages
With the popularity of smartphones, we offer various seminars on smartphones for beginners. Regardless of the cell phone you use or the communication carrier you have a contract with, you can participate in these seminars by dedicated smartphone specialists who have been independently certified by SoftBank all over Japan.
In July 2020, we launched online smartphone classes using Zoom for customers who could not go outside due to COVID-19. Providing in-store services online is well received as a new option particularly by seniors who worry about going out and those who are not comfortable remaining in shops for extended periods of time.
Major Courses | |||
---|---|---|---|
Seminar Course Name | Target | Estimated time | Contents |
Smartphone experience class before you buy |
|
60-120 minutes (negotiable) |
|
First time to try Zoom |
|
90 minutes |
|
My First Smartphone Payment +How to use a smartphone |
|
120 minutes |
|
Drawing class with iPad |
|
120 minutes |
|
- [Note]
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*
We have established our own guidelines for infection prevention measures.
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*
Supporting the use of technology in teaching leadership
to youth
with
special needs
Since 2007, SoftBank has been supporting DO-IT (diversity,
opportunities, internet working and technology) Japan (run by the
Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology) to help youth
with special needs enter university and find employment.
This program supports students from elementary school through to
university who have difficulty reading and writing, with the goal
of enabling them to be future leaders in society.
Since 2011 together with EDUAS, an education business operator in the SoftBank Group, we have implemented programs using tablets and seminars for their parents to support learning.
SoftBank will continue to support communication for participants with special needs or suffering from illness, and to foster openness and diversity by identifying barriers in society.
Supporting hearing-impaired people's “Right to Know” through mobile phones
SoftBank is examining how mobile phones and the Internet can help youth with special needs learn and gain independence. Since fiscal 2008, SoftBank has been lending mobile handsets to the non-profit organization (NPO) Nagano Summarize Center to help them develop an experimental system where interpreters in remote locations summarize the content spoken in public speeches in real time. This content is then displayed on a mobile phone. Through collaborations with universities and NPOs, SoftBank is committed to securing equal rights to information for the hearing impaired (“The Right to Know”)* through the expanded use of the Mobile Remote Information Assurance System.
- [Note]
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*
Refers to the provision of information by alternative means to ensure equal rights to information.
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*
Expanding the use of the mobile remote information relay system
Since fiscal 2009 we have conducted introductory experiments towards practical implementation of the Mobile Remote Information Assurance System jointly with universities, including the Tsukuba University of Technology, and NPOs. Since fiscal 2012, with the cooperation of partner universities and institutions, we have sought out universities that wish to be involved with long-distance information assurance, and conducted further experiments of the Mobile Remote Information Assurance System. The knowledge and experience we have gained will be published as a collection of case studies and manuals.
SoftBank is committed to expanding the use of the Mobile Remote Information Assurance System as a means of achieving widespread adoption of an effective long-distance information assurance service.
What is the mobile remote information assurance system?
The Mobile Remote Information Assurance System is a system derived
from a business started by the NPO Nagano Summarize Center (in
fiscal 2008) and developed and proof of concept tested by a joint
research group consisting of the Tsukuba University of Technology,
Softbank, NPO Nagano Summarize Center, Gunma University, The
University of Tokyo Research Center for Advanced Science and
Technology, and MCC HubneT.
When a hearing-impaired person attends a class or other similar
event, two interpreters working in concert summarize the speaker's
words and add them in the form of captions on a PC screen. In a
conventional system, interpreters use a networked PC, summarize the
speech, and type captions on the PC screen. However, because the
interpreters need to be present where the PC is located, there are
constraints on the places and times the service can be used.
Under the new Mobile Remote Information Assurance System, the
interpreters' summary of the speaker's words is entered on a mobile
phone and displayed in real-time on other mobile phones. With this
new system, interpreters no longer need to be physically present.
They can also use the system while on the move, which widens the
opportunities for the hearing impaired to obtain information.
Promoting ways to resolve
the digital divide
through
providing information
communication devices
for free
The number of services and devices using Internet communications is increasing every year, and IT has developed into an important lifeline which supports QOL (quality of life). At the same time, it is said that a digital divide is being created due to differences in Internet accessibility according to factors such as living environment and income. When the volume of accessible information is low, this leads to lost opportunities to connect to convenient lifestyle services and new information, which definitely has an impact on academic ability, employment, and income level as well.
As part of our efforts to address the digital divide due to income, SoftBank provides smartphones, tablets, and other information communication devices for free to children who are unable to receive learning opportunities due to poverty and nonprofit organizations that support orphans and other children. In addition, we also provide a system to deliver donations to such organizations through the “Charity Smile” program in which we match every 10 yen monthly donation by customers who use SoftBank services. We will promote the realization of a society in which anyone, regardless of their living environment, can experience the convenience of the Internet through ICT.