Sign Language Translation Approach to Sinhalese Language

Abstract

Abstract Sign language is used for communication between deaf persons while Sinhalese language is used by normal hearing persons whose first language is Sinhalese in Sri Lanka. This research focuses on an approach for a real-time translation from Sri Lankan sign language to Sinhalese language which will bridge the communication gap between deaf and ordinary communities. This study further focuses on a novel methodology of enabling distance communication between deaf and ordinary persons. Once the sign based gestures captured by depth sensing camera, series of feature extraction techniques will be used to identify essential attributes in gesture frame. Identified feature frame will be compared with pre-trained gesture dictionary based on classification techniques, in order to identify gesture based word. Detected word will be displayed for ordinary user or could be used for communication between two individuals in two different geographic locations. Proposed prototype has provided an overall recognition rate of 94.2% for a dictionary of fifteen signs in Sri Lankan sign language.