Android Application to Support Communication Between Romanian Hearing and Deaf Peoples

Abstract

Deaf persons usually relies on sign language to communicate with other human beings. This language is expressed through manual articulations in combination with non-manual elements, being a full rights language, with its own grammar and lexicon. Still, it is closely linked to the culture, customs and norms of the community that uses it, so that there is a sign language for the deaf community in Romania. Though there are many attempts to develop assistive technologies, most of them are for American Sign Language. The article presents an Android application to translate a message from Romanian language to Romanian sign language through videos in which these words are mimicked. The application was successfully used in an orphanage by hearing children to learn the sign language and to communicate with a deaf peer.