Induced decision fusion in automated sign language interpretation: Using ICA to isolate the underlying components of sign

Abstract

We utilise the techniques of independent component analysis and principle component analysis to derive an independent set of gestural primitives for visual sign-language, employing existing sign linguistics as a reference point in the feature reduction. In this way it is possible both to reduce (by several orders of magnitude) the requisite quantity of HMM computation involved in word classification, as well as to significantly improve performance through having transformed the initial classification problem into one of decision fusion. Moreover, the independent and optimally-compact representation of the gestural primitives ensures a maximum of classifier diversity prior to combination. © Springer-Verlag 2004.