Researchers develop device to interpret sign language

The Central University of Kerala received a patent for a device which would solve the difficulty in interpreting sign language. The research project began in 2016 in Departement of Computer Science and was undertaken by Dr R Rajesh Associate Professor and V Adithya, research fellow.

Kasaragod: People struggle to understand the sign language of hearing-impaired persons.V Adithya, research fellow and Dr R Rajesh Associate Professor in Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod were toiling since 2016 to come up with a solution for the problem. They came up with a device to easily interpret sign language patterns using computers. The Central University of Kerala received a patent for the research project undergone in the Department of Computer Science.

The device would grab the visuals of the sign language on camera and would interpret the same through a computer. The device would facilitate easy communication of the sign language by copying and transmitting the visuals of the hand movements and signs displayed in front of the camera.

The device could be operated by setting it up with a camera or laptop. The research, which has succeeded now, had begun way back in 2016.

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Moreover, the device was designed and developed keeping in mind the circumstances a hearing-impaired person might be presented with or the situations he or she might have to interact in public spaces. Everyone regarded learning sign language as a herculean task.

The basic idea was to bring up an alternate solution to this awkward situation and this was realised through the research initiative by the Central University of Kerala.

According to experts in the field, this design and development would be a major leap in the study of computerised sign language interpretation. Development of the device after further research would be helpful for a lot of people.