Spiders
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COATI and some other groups such as the ALIS Project (Alternative Interpretation System) have also built spider “whispering interpretation” systems. Their website contains information on how to use spiders, their cost, and how to order them. They also have open source designs. This technology does not allow for the interpreter and listeners to be spread across a room; instead it requires that the interpreter employs the whispering technique into a microphone that is connected via a web of wires to the headphones of the listeners sitting close by. This prevents the scenario where interpreters have to speak over one another in order to be heard by their groups, and whispering can happen in the truest sense of the word. Spiders are available for under $100 for multiple headsets.
