Talking Fingers - Sign Language Translator

Abstract

Sign languages are visual languages that use hand, facial and body movements as a means of communication. There are over 135 different sign languages all around the world including American Sign Language (ASL), Indian Sign Language (ISL) and British Sign Language (BSL). Sign language is commonly used as the main form of communication for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, but sign languages also have a lot to offer for everyone. In our proposed system, we are creating a Web Application which contains two modules: The first module will accept the Information in Natural Language (Input Text) and it will show the corresponding Information in Sign Language Images (GIF Format). The second module will accept the Information in Sign Language (Input Hand Gesture of any ASL Letter) and it will detect the Letter and display it as the Output (Text). The system is built to bridge the communication gap between deaf-mute people and regular people as those who don’t know the American Sign Language can either use it to learn the Sign Language or to communicate with someone who knows the Sign Language. This approach will help users in quick communication without having to wait for any human interpreter to translate the Sign Language. The application is developed using Django and Flask frameworks and it includes NLP and Neural Network. We are focusing on improving the Living standards of the hearing impaired people as it can be very difficult to perform everyday tasks especially when people around them don’t know Sign Language. This application can also be used as a teaching tool for relatives and friends of deaf people as well as people interested in learning the sign language.