Making social media applications inclusive for deaf end-users with access to sign language

Abstract

Social media apps such as WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram and Viber are primary communication channels for most people today. Even within these Mainstream Social Media Applications, persons who are deaf are not provided with the rights and means to interact using sign language. This work, an outcome of the research project’ “Accessible System and Social Media Mobile Application for Deaf Users (ASM4Deaf)”, supports the inclusion of deaf end-users in social media applications. This was achieved via: 1) design and development of the ASM4Deaf system, which includes the Connect Deaf mobile application, enabling use of Sign Language Alphabet keyboards in social media apps in 17 different sign languages and 2) the evaluations of Low- and High-Fidelity prototypes aimed to enhance the app’s design and functionality, i.e. the ability to browse, search and edit animated videos/GIFs in the American Sign Language (ASL), using the face swapping feature. This makes the full set of features offered by social media applications accessible to deaf end-users and their personal network, which is the main contribution of this work. A Human-Centred Design methodology was employed, with the end-users at the heart of the process, to design and evaluate the Lo-Fi and Hi-Fi prototypes, and based on the evaluation results to develop the ASM4Deaf system and the Connect Deaf mobile application to fully meet the requirements of the deaf end-users.