Mobile app to translate sign language

 A mobile application designed to translate sign language could remove communication barriers and enhances the lives of people with hearing difficulties.

The Portable Sign Language Translator, designed by University of Aberdeen spin-off Technabling, runs on a multitude of mobile devices, including smartphones, laptops and tablets.

Funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), along with the

Technology Strategy Board - part of the Small Business Research Initiative - its aim is to help more people with impaired hearing of school leaving age to get their first step into the jobs market through stronger communication opportunities. 

“The aim of the technology... is to empower sign language users by enabling them to overcome the communication challenges they can experience, through portable technology," said Dr Ernesto Compatangelo, a computer science lecturer at the University of Aberdeen and founder of Technabling.

"The key intent is to enable sign language users of this age, and beyond, to overcome the communication disadvantage they experience, allowing them to fulfil their education potential and enter the job market.”

The app uses a camera on the device to record the sign language and then translates the motions into text, enabling people with hearing impairments to converse with those who cannot sign.  

Although the app will work with British Sign Language and Makaton, it also enables users to personalise their signing, giving them more opportunities for expression than the more strict sign languages allow. 

“One of the most innovative and exciting aspects of the technology, is that it allows sign language users to actually develop their own signs for concepts and terms they need to have in their vocabulary, but they may not have been able to express easily when using BSL,” added Dr Compatangleo.

 Technabling is hoping to make the app publicly available next year, but is calling on more people in and around Aberdeen to take part in trials to boost its accuracy. 

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Mobile Application Development