A University of KwaZulu-Natal graduate has developed an artificial intelligence system aimed at helping Deaf South Africans communicate with people who do not know South African Sign Language.
Speaking to VOC News, developer and UKZN graduate Akhil Hansrajh said the idea was inspired by his parents, who are both hard of hearing.
“My dad taught my sister and I to sign when we were young, but I only really learned the alphabet, so I could never interpret a whole conversation,” Hansrajh said.
He said a personal experience involving his parents and the South African Social Security Agency, or SASSA, highlighted the communication barriers Deaf people can face when accessing public services.
The software uses a camera to track a person’s hands, arms and face before an AI model identifies the sign and converts it into spoken English.
“A deaf person can sign to a teller who’s never learned sign language before and the teller hears the signs in real English,” Hansrajh explained.
The system has so far been tested by his parents, with Hansrajh acknowledging that more data from Deaf people is needed to improve its accuracy.
He says the next steps include recognising full sentences and developing speech recognition so that responses from hearing people can also be converted into text.
Photo: UKZN
