An Experiment on Handshape Sign Recognition Using Adaptive Technology: Preliminary Results

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of current work on the recognition of sign language and a prototype of a simple editor for a small subset of the Brazilian Sign Language, LIBRAS. Handshape based alphabetical signs, are captured by a single digital camera, processed on-line by using computational vision techniques and converted to the corresponding Latin letter. The development of such prototype employed a machine-learning technique, based on automata theory and adaptive devices. This technique represents a new approach to be used in the far more complex problem of full LIBRAS recognition. As it happens with spoken languages, sign languages are not universal. They vary a lot from country to country, and in spite of the existence of many works in American Sign Language (ASL), the automatic recognition of Brazilian Sign Language has not been extensively studied. ...