AI technology teaches deaf children to read

A combination of AI and augmented reality will bring life to children who cannot hear.

At least 32 million deaf children must learn to interpret what their teacher says, without using the sound-based phonetic system most children use; both in schools and in any extra-curricular activity. Learning to read is a complex, difficult and lengthy process for any child, but it is an additional challenge for a child with a hearing impairment.

Deafness affects more than 5% of the world population, statistics indicate that these children almost always lag behind their hearing peers, in the school learning process.

Scientists design a robotic tail for humans

Hearing-impaired children link written words with the ideas they represent, undoubtedly more difficult than for others.

But the solution has arrived through the birth of StorySign, a free augmented reality application that takes advantage of Huawei's AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology to teach deaf children to read through Star, the virtual avatar that translates into sign language, texts.

How does this new and innovative app work?

When opening the app, you have to choose a title from the StorySign library and move the cell phone over the pages of the book. The app is available to be downloaded from Google Play, it is compatible with 10 sign languages ​​and works on Android devices with version 6.0 or higher. The manufacturer commented that it is optimized for its own AI-infused phones, such as the Mate 20 Pro.

The StorySign application has great potential, since there are more than 460 million people with hearing loss who could benefit, when it is made effective in any type of document.

StorySign was developed in collaboration between the Chinese giant Huawei, the European Union and the British Association of the Deaf.