IBM Develops Virtual Deaf Interpreter

[Miss-Delectable]

The Associated Press: IBM Develops Virtual Deaf Interpreter

Here's a productive twist on the animated characters known as avatars that carry out fantasies in virtual computer worlds. IBM Corp. researchers have developed an avatar that can translate spoken words into sign language.

The technology is meant for use in the real world and could be useful when human interpreters for the deaf are unavailable, or when a conversation is sensitive. Imagine sitting through a lecture and seeing a digital character projected on a screen behind the speaker, interpreting the speech in real time.

The IBM team and advocates for the deaf caution that the system is still a prototype. It also works only with British Sign Language for now because it was created at an IBM research center in Hursley, England.

But the system, known as SiSi (for "Say It Sign It"), is expected to move out of the labs and into commercial products. It is designed to be baked into other vendors' deaf-accessibility products and expanded to include other countries' sign languages.

SiSi works by using speech recognition to convert a conversation into text. From there, SiSi translates the text into the gestures used in sign language and animates a customizable avatar that carries them out.

 

[diehardbiker]

This is not going to happen anytime soon! Its just a dreamers world that is all.

Nothing can replace ASL! Even though it would be nice to translate english to ASL, however, the ASL has not been "written" yet Once it becomes written, then it may be possible.

 

[Dennis S.]

It's much easier to go from speaking/writing to signing than vice versa. So this is certainly possible as long as the dictionary used is context sensitive, i.e., don't say "roll" and then have the program sign the food "rolls" when you meant the motion "rolling"

Heck, even the three words I was thinking of would have to be done in context:

"Stop, drop, and roll"

Stop is easy. Drop would have to be "fall down" instead of "dropping something." Roll would have to be "roll over" instead of "bread roll" or "role" (phonetically similar)

Still, MUCH EASIER than trying to sign a word and have a computer recognize it.