Effectuating Communication for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing: An Ethnographic Review

Abstract

The Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing constitute a significant populace, raising the need for technology, which is becoming ubiquitous in the world, to become more accessible for them. This paper enlists recent efforts and research popular in the accessibility sphere for the DHH and asks research questions based on the review. The DHH Demographic are scattered around the world, and while there exists an International Sign Language, people tend to utilize their regional versions of the Sign Language, impeding solidarity. Systems, representations, and interpretations of the different Sign Languages are divergent. Hence, this paper examines research done solely in the sphere of different renditions of the Sign Language. This paper also discerns certain challenges and suggests how technology can work towards accurate interpretation and communication for the DHH. The use of Computer Vision and Deep Learning Algorithms is especially prevalent in current research, and this paper focuses on identifying some novel frameworks and procedures which have varied and deep applications in the accessibility sphere, not just for the DHH. The purpose of this review paper is to understand current research methods and encourage collaboration of version-specific researchers to further and ameliorate research.