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Procedia Engineering 8 (2011) 348–352

2nd International Science, Social Science, Engineering and Energy Conference 2010: Engineering Science and Management A New Design of the Intelligent Sign Language Interpreters

Waraporn Nachareea* , Suriya Pradisathaporn b Somkuan Kaviyac, Nataya Nakasand and Preecha P. Yupapine

a,c,Innovative Communication Program, Krirk University , 10220, bInstitute of Physical Education Phetchabun , Phetchabun 67000, Thailand dThe Faculty of Communications Arts, Krirk University , Bangkok 10220, Thailand eKing Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok 10520, Thailand Elsevier use only: Received 15 November 2010; revised 15 December 2010; accepted 20 December 2010

Abstract

According to the declaration of human rights (UN) and the constitution B.E. 2540 of the Kingdom of Thailand and the present constitution, the disabled in hearing have the rights to study in the educational institutes of general persons. When the disabled in hearing study in higher levels, they find the problems of the sign language interpreters and other facilities, which affect their education. So several agencies and educational institutes try to solve these problems by inventing the Thai sign language interpreter machine and Dinsow robot, which the intelligent robot can interpret the sign languages into words. But nobody has developed the smaller communicative machine which can take with oneself and communicate two ways. In this paper, the concept of the new intelligent sign language interpreters has been developed with only two pieces of equipments, that composes of the braintooth and the mobile reader work together to communicate between teacher with learners.

©© 2011 2010 Published Published byby Elsevier Elsevier Ltd. Ltd.

Keywords: Braintooth, Mobile reader, Intelligent sign Language; Communication art

1. Introduction

In the present world society, the information and communication technology or ICT plays an important role and is a mechanism in changing ways of life and working. The educational institutes are inevitable to bring the technology to use in their education. They are also aware how to use it to support the learners and help them lead their lives efficiently in the rapidly changing word [1]. Bring the technologies to use for education, especially, apply them for the disabled. There are many advantages, that is to say, the disabled can help themselves in their education and they can learn by themselves without the burdens of other people like in the past. Learning happens all the time for general people. When technologies are brought to use for the disabled, they must be applied properly for the ability of the disabled such as the vibrating watch tied with the wrist of the disabled in hearing [2]. In the present

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +6-689-436-2546; fax: +6-656-724-107. E-mail address: [email protected]

1877–7058 © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2011.03.065 Waraporn Nacharee et al. / Procedia Engineering 8 (2011) 348–352 349 time, there are more than 364 Millions of citizens from 6.8 billions of citizens worldwide, who have problems in hearing, 1 per 19 of all the citizens. These people face several problems effecting their lives. Now there is only one high institute called Gallaudet in Washington D.C. for those having problems in hearing. Most of the general teachers do not know the sign languages, so they can communicate only with the general learners. The problems of the communication between general peptide and those have the problems in hearing affect the education. In Thailand, there are about 118,000 of those having problems in hearing. They can attend the educational institutes or learn with the general learners according to their rights and duties in the declaration of human rights in accordance with the present constitution. But the tendencies of the problems are that when they attend the higher education and do not get the services of the sign languages and other facilities, these affect their education. From the study it was found that the sign language interpreters are produced from only one educational institute called Ratchasuda Colledge of , where there is a limit in managing the education, it can produce one group of the sign language interpreters every 5 years. There are not enough sign language interpreters for those having problems in hearing, who want them in their education.

Fig. 1 Braintooth

From these problems and obstacles, the educational agencies and organizations in Thailand think of developing the technology media to help the disable such as Ratchasuda College of Mahidol University, NECTEC with IBM in Thai, which is the software to help road Thai webpage sounds to help the disabled in seeing [3]. “Know and recognize the sounds of Thai tone marks individually”[4]. “Know and recognize Thai spoken sounds by analyzing the units of sounds individually”[5]. “The program to transform the paper files into Thai sounds” is a program to transform the messages into Thai spoken sounds for only general people or those having problems in hearing, where they can read and write [6]. “Change the alphabets into Thai spoken words is a program used to transform the alphabets into Thai spoken sounds for only general people or those having problems in hearing, who can read and write[7]. “Computer program with Thai sign language index” is a program presenting the moving pictures until they want or find out the vocabulary in the section from K-H consisting of 650 words, which cannot be used with general people or those having problems in hearing, where they cannot read and write [8]. “Program of computer assistant instruction of Thai sign languages by way of the internet network” helps teach general people or those having problems in hearing, where they can use the sign language. It takes time before they can communicate one another [9]. Later the educational agencies, the faculty of engineering, together with C.T. Asia Robotics Company Ltd., invented the Dinsow robot, which is an intelligent robot with the ability of reading the Thai language, the first one in the world, in the software research by using the technology of computational intelligence. The robot recognizes the moving pictures of the sign languages without the helping equipment. The work of the system will issue the orders to make the robot recognize, starting from storing and building the prototypes of more 350 Waraporn Nacharee et al. / Procedia Engineering 8 (2011) 348–352 than 4,000 pictures of the sign languages before the system will be taught to recognize those pictures of the sign languages and transmit into the words what the disable show the sign languages.

Fig. 2. A mobile reader

This Dinsow robot is developed from the sign language machine which can transform the sign languages into words, which is cost more than 1 million baht for one robot. Nobody develops this software to be installed in other mobile equipment. The concept to bring the software to input the information into the mobile reader appears and it can be used to communicate two ways between general teachers and the disabled in gearing called ‘a new design of the intelligent sign language interpreters’ with two pieces of the important equipments, which is a perfect candidate for microsoft office professional and this is where he — and you — can come to learn more.

• Braintooth Braintooth is an access point with the equipment such as the camera sensor, the microphone and the earphone as shown in Fig. 1. • Mobile Reader Mobile Reader has a software program for inputting the information by storing and building the language prototype about 4,000 pictures of the sign languages and it will read and transform the signals into the pictures of the sign languages. fig 2.

2. CONCEPT OF COMMUNICATION

In the translating of the sign language, the will be the steps of working processes as shown in Fig. 3. Step1. For the teacher The teacher explains the context of the lesson coming out in the sounds. Braintooth receive the sound signals through the microphone, the mobile reader will read and send out the pictures of the sign languages. The signals appear on the screen of the projector into the pictures of the sign languages to make the learners who are deaf understand and these two gadget can be used everywhere and every time you want to communicate with the system of wireless signals as shown in Fig. 4. Waraporn Nacharee et al. / Procedia Engineering 8 (2011) 348–352 351

Fig. 3. Process of communication

Fig. 4. Process of communication for teacher

Step 2: For the learner When the deaf learners doubt or want to communicate with the teacher, the teacher sticks braintooth at his ear with the camera sensor of braintooth focusing the moving pictures of the sign languages of the deaf learners. The 352 Waraporn Nacharee et al. / Procedia Engineering 8 (2011) 348–352 mobile reader receives the pictures signals of the sign languages and memorizes them and reads the value out into the words to the earphone what do the disabled show the sign languages. as show in fig 5.

Fig. 5. Process of communication for learner

3. Conclusion

The educational institutes apply this new technology in their education, specially, with the disabled in hearing, they can solve the problems of the shortage of the sign language interpreters in the institutes, where the disabled in hearing share their education with general persons. It also supports the disabled to help themselves and learn with the general persons by using this a new design of the intelligent language interpreters.

References

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