Emergency Communication Application for Speech and Hearing-Impaired Citizens

Abstract

Citizens worldwide with mutism and hearing loss, converse differently than the rest of the population. Preferring a gestural mode of communication, they use sign languages which are established natural languages with an extensive vocabulary and syntax. Nevertheless, despite having equal status to spoken languages, society prominently caters to the majority of citizens who are capable of speaking and processing spoken languages. As a result, sign language speakers face difficulties with social aggregation. The Sri Lankan citizens with mutism and hearing loss obtain improving benefits with the advancement of technology; however, accessing emergency services remains a challenge as they can only be accessed verbally using a phone call. Project `Wadhan' enables citizens with mutism and hearing loss to request for emergency services in real-time without depending on an intermediary. This cross-platform mobile application will convert Sri Lankan Sign Language (SSL) statements to voice and vice-versa, which allows a seamless conversation between the SSL speaker and the emergency operator. The application includes SSL Gesture Recognition, Sinhala Text-to-Speech (TTS), Sinhala Speech Recognition, and SSL Animation Generation, thus resulting in an emergency communication application that can be used by SSL users in dire situations.