A glove based approach to recognize Indian sign languages

Abstract

Language is the first and foremost requirement for any human being in the world as communication would become impossible without its presence. Human beings with good hearing and speaking abilities would never find conversations difficult, whereas those with hearing and speaking impairments would rely on some special language mechanisms for making their conversations both simple and understandable. One such special mechanism is the so called Sign language. This language possesses a well-defined code gesture; a meaning would be incorporated in to the gesture to enable the persons involved in the communication to understand the essence of the conversation. In India, individuals with hearing impairment (dumb) make use of the Indian Sign Language (ISL) to communicate with others. Compared to the other natural languages with well defined grammar, syntax, phonetics, and morphology the Indian Sign Language has also been widely accepted all over the country. The quality and adequacy of the sign languages are comparatively lower than that of the other natural languages. Various techniques and mechanisms have been identified and incorporated in the communication realm of those with speaking and hearing impairments with an aim of achieving efficiency and adequacy with the advancements in the area of science and technology. Improvements in the sign languages would eventually reduce the communication gap. Interactions involving human beings and computers essentially make use of the glove based and vision based approaches for the purpose of illustrating the gestures appropriately. Compared to the vision based approach the glove based approach is quite expensive and hence difficult for everyday use. This work illustrates the vision based ideas incorporating a cost effective camera that essentially captures and analyses the signs of ISL and suitably converts the same to its corresponding text and speech formats.