Adaptable sign language
Researchers in Spain have developed a visual-interpretation system that allows the deaf and hard of hearing to communicate more effectively.
Spanish sign language is used by over 100,000 people with hearing impairments and is made up of hundreds of signs.
Sergio Escalera, Petia Radeva and Jordi Vitrià from the Computer Vision Centre at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (CVC-UAB) selected over 20 of these signs to develop a visual-interpretation system that allows deaf people to carry out consultations in the language they commonly use.
Signs can vary slightly depending on each user. Project researchers took this into account during the trials carried out with different people to help the system ’become familiarised’ with this variability. The signs recognised by the system were programmed to allow deaf people to maintain a basic conversation, including asking for help or directions.
’For them it is a non-artificial way of communicating and at the same time they can engage with people who do not speak sign language, since the system translates the symbols into words in real time,’ said Escalera.
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