The Graphical Translation of English Text into Signed English in the Hand Sign Translator System

Abstract

Signed English is a manual interpretation of English using fingerspelling and signs. A prototype of the Hand Sign Translator (HST) system was developed to graphically translate English into Signed English, using two-handed animation. The HST consists of a practical interface that aims to help users learn Signed English, and the translation process where English text is transformed into a series of images that represent corresponding signs. This paper describes the translation process which involves two stages- the input environment and the animation process. The input environment consists of text analysis in order to extract corresponding kinematic data from the database, named English-Sign Dictionary (ESD). The data is then used as an input to the animation process, Firstly, the skeleton models of keyframe images and their in-between poses are calculated. Secondly, appropriate volume models are applied in order to surround the surface of skin. Then the shapes that are suitable for painting are generated, and finally images are drawn and rendered using a smooth animation technique.