[games_access] Technique links words to signing

[Eelke Folmer]

Hey,

Thanks for the info I didn't even know that. But it makes sense now!

Cheers Eelke


On 9/16/07, Reid Kimball <reid at rbkdesign.com> wrote:
> There are different sign languages, British is different from American
> and so on throughout different parts of the world.
>
> The reason they want to use visual signs instead of text is that it
> truly is a different language with its own grammar structure and
> rules. It's not a simple matter to translate signs to text and vice
> versa. People that are born deaf and grow up to learn sign language
> often have great difficulty reading text in English or other
> languages.
>
> -Reid
>
> On 9/16/07, Eelke Folmer <eelke.folmer at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hi Barrie,
> >
> > Very interesting but unless you use mechanical puppets to animate the
> > sign language in a non digital environment, wouldn't it just be easier
> > to just use text? e.g. render subtitles on a screen? Or am I missing
> > something here? Is sign language the same for different languages or
> > is it universal?
> >
> > Cheers Eelke
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On 9/15/07, Barrie Ellis <barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk> wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > A group of students working for IBM develops technology that automatically
> > > converts the spoken word to British Sign Language.
> > >
> > > Technology that translates spoken or written words into British Sign
> > > Language (BSL) has been developed by researchers at IBM.
> > >
> > > The system, called SiSi (Say It Sign It) was created by a group of students
> > > in the UK.
> > >
> > > SiSi will enable deaf people to have simultaneous sign language
> > > interpretations of meetings and presentations.
> > >
> > > It uses speech recognition to animate a digital character or avatar.
> > >
> > > IBM says its technology will allow for interpretation in situations where a
> > > human interpreter is not available.
> > >
> > > It could also be used to provide automatic signing for television, radio and
> > > telephone calls.
> > >
> > > 'Disenfranchised citizens'
> > >
> > > The concept has already gained the approval of the Royal National Institute
> > > for Deaf people (RNID).
> > >
> > > "RNID welcomes any development that would make the information society a
> > > more equal place for deaf and hard of hearing people," said the charity's
> > > director of new technologies, Guido Gybels.
> > >
> > > "Sign language users are among the most disenfranchised citizens as a result
> > > of services and products not being designed with their needs in mind."
> > >
> > > But Mr Gybels says there is still a long way to go before such prototypes
> > > are in everyday use.
> > >
> > > IBM runs a yearly initiative called Extreme Blue which invites
> > > technically-minded and business students to collaborate for 12 weeks.
> > >
> > > "We had a profoundly deaf mentor, so he kept a close eye on what was being
> > > done and checking whether our translation corresponded to real BSL," said
> > > Maria Vihljajeva, the student who developed the business plan for SiSi.
> > >
> > > The students used two signing avatars developed by the University of East
> > > Anglia.
> > >
> > > One of them signs in BSL and the other uses Sign Supported English - a more
> > > direct translation using conventional syntax and grammar.
> > >
> > > Converting SiSi to use other languages should also be straightforward,
> > > according to Tom Klapiscak, another student who had technical input into the
> > > project.
> > >
> > > "We designed the SiSi architecture in such a way that new translation
> > > modules can easily be plugged into the system," he said.
> > >
> > > "Obviously this would involve the work of creating the translation module
> > > itself - which is no small task."
> > >
> > > Mr Gybels of the RNID says he is "very impressed" with what the students
> > > were able to achieve in just twelve weeks.
> > >
> > > "Creating a system that can actually bridge the gap between hearing people
> > > who speak English and deaf people who use BSL is very important."
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
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> > >
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> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
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> > >
> > >
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> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Via BBC:
> > > http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6993326.stm
> > > _______________________________________________
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> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Eelke Folmer                           Assistant Professor
> > Department of CS&E/171
> > University of Nevada              Reno, Nevada 89557
> > Game interaction design        www.helpyouplay.com
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Eelke Folmer                           Assistant Professor
Department of CS&E/171
University of Nevada              Reno, Nevada 89557
Game interaction design        www.helpyouplay.com
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