Crowdsourced English to ASL Translation Environment

This project develops a crowd-sourced English-to-ASL translation environment (CrEATE) to provide online English-to-ASL translation services and other assistive products for Deaf persons whose first language is American Sign Language (ASL) with the goal to improve the access of Deaf persons to English text in educational, job, health, and everyday settings. The projects builds on SigningAvatar technology, used by Vcom3D to create the Sign4Me English-to-ASL translation app and the Signing Science series of Dictionaries, and introduces key innovations in animation and in crowdsourcing needed to allow anyone who is proficient in English and ASL to contribute to the English-to-ASL translation capability. Vcom3D partners with Technical Education Research Centers (TERC) to conduct evaluations with high school and university students to determine the usability and accuracy of the CrEATE tools and to assess the potential role in advancing the access of Deaf persons to online English content. Research and development outcomes include a mobile app and server that enables collaboration among Deaf persons and their educators to translate English text to animated ASL; and indirectly an English-to-ASL translation service, enabled by the contributions of its users, resulting in increased access by Deaf persons to written information that is available on the Web.