Visual System Interprets Sign Languages

Visual System Interprets Sign Language (Link to an article in ScienceDaily)

Amazing article on how the development of new technologies can benefit people with different disabilities.  This time students from the European Union in conjunction with the "Catalan Federation of Deaf People" developed a visual system that will help deaf people that use Spanish sign language make consultations in their language. What is interesting in this research is the fact that researchers are taking into consideration that signs can vary depending on each user. Another aspect that is very notorious is the ability of this system to translate sign language to real words in real-time. This feature allows deaf users to communicate using the simplest signs of the collection of sign language to establish a simple conversation with people that knows nothing about sign language. It makes use of very simple artifacts that we use in our daily lives such as a video camera. It captures images that are interpreted and matched with a sign. It is worth mentioning that this system can be scalable and adaptable to other sign languages. Its architecture allows other users to train the system to work with different sign languages. According to the author of the article, this system is designed with peculiar care due to the different contexts in which the system can be used. The researchers have worked hard to find a harmony between the environment that surrounds the system: light, shadows, speed at which the sign is made, etc. Even though this is a very promising project, designers of the visual system assured that it can not handle many signs yet. The reason is that it can confuse some signs but development is on its way. They are trying to implement the system using two cameras two recognize more complex signs. In conclusion, projects that make life easier for those that are unable to participate in our communities  or have a special need are exceptional ways to show that we can reach a harmony between humans and the environment that surround us. These types of projects create an environment where humans can be sure that their dignity will be protected. Technologies that want to make humans less human are worthless. We need to focus on creating technologies that will make members of our society more human instead of degrading human nature. This is a good example of technologies that make good use of information contained in the context. This system responds to the presence of a deaf person and it is worth mentioning that this will allow those members with special needs to integrate in a more natural and human way to our society.