Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Japan's NHK studies sign language technology

Researchers at Japan's public broadcaster, NHK, are studying how to transform Japanese into computer-animated Japanese Sign Language (JSL) automatically.

The NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories have developed a Japanese-JSL dictionary containing about 4,900 signs stored as digital 3D motion capture data.

The data can be rendered in real-time using television programme making language (TVML).

The sign language is delivered by an avatar standing in what appears to be a virtual newsroom.

The laboratories have also developed an automatic speech recognition technology that makes it possible to create subtitles for the hearing impaired in real time automatically.

The new technologies are aimed at improving services for the hearing impaired, especially in the case of disaster or breaking news.

(Source : Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union)

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