CART
Communication Access Realtime Translation — human-driven live captioning produced by a trained captioner using a stenography system.
CART is the original live-captioning workflow: a trained human captioner (typically a stenographer using a steno machine) types as the speaker speaks, producing captions in real time. Accuracy on professional CART is typically above 98%, exceeding most automated ASR systems.
CART providers are commonly used for high-stakes live content where accuracy matters more than cost: legal proceedings, medical settings, broadcast television, government meetings, and major public events with known deaf attendees.
Pricing is typically per-hour and significantly higher than automated platforms. Many event programs use a hybrid model: automated captioning as the default baseline, CART as an upgrade for keynote sessions or sessions with explicit accessibility needs.