FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The German Youth Association of People with Hearing Loss and MRM//McCann Frankfurt launch SIGNS, the first smart voice assistant solution for people with hearing loss. SIGNS is a tool, that recognizes and translates sign language and then communicates directly with a selected voice assistant (Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant or Microsoft Cortana). In a world driven by voice commands for turning on lights or asking for the latest weather update, SIGNS brings inclusion to the digital age as around 466 million people worldwide are affected by hearing loss.
SIGNS recognizes and translates German sign language in real-time and communicates directly with a selected voice assistant. The smart tool is based on an intelligent machine learning framework trained to identify body gestures with the help of a camera. These gestures are converted into a data format that the selected voice assistant understands. SIGNS works on any browser-based operating system that has an integrated camera (laptops, tablets) and can be connected to most voice assistant services. The voice assistant processes the data in real-time and replies appropriately back to SIGNS. The answer is then immediately either displayed in text form or via visual feedback.
Further information: www.projectsigns.org
Based on the prediction from Gartner1 that the world will be dominated by 30% non-screen based digital interaction by 2020, SIGNS was developed in MRM//McCann’ s product innovation LAB13 in Frankfurt am Main to create awareness for inclusion in the digital age. According to the World Health Organization around 466 million people worldwide have disabling hearing loss.
“The digital age is full of great opportunities for inclusion but at the same time faces tough challenges for certain groups. SIGNS is a great step forward to allow us all the access to newest technologies,” says Michelle Mohring, 1. Chairwoman, German Youth Association of People with Hearing Loss.
“Our ambition is to help people with hearing loss, especially now as voice assistants are on the rise. We launched the first prototype but our aim is to create an all accessible application, that can easily be trained worldwide. The next step is to increase SIGNS’ vocabulary and teach it more languages – in cooperation with new partners around the world,” comments Martin Biela, ECD, MRM//McCann.
