Recent Advancements in Design and Implementation of Automated Sign Language Recognition Systems

Abstract

Sign language has been used for a long time by deaf and mute people to communicate their thoughts and feelings. Since there is no universal sign language, the needy people use country-specific sign languages. For example, American Sign Language (ASL) is popularly used by Americans and Indian Sign Language (ISL) is commonly practised in India. Communication between two people who know the specific sign language is quite easy. But, if a mute person wants to communicate with another person who is not familiar with sign language, it is a difficult task, and a sign language interpreter is required to translate the signs. This issue motivated the computer scientist to work on automated sign language recognition systems that are capable of recognizing the signs from specific sign languages and converting them into text information or audio so that the common people can understand it easily. This chapter will be a useful reference for the researchers who are planning to start their research study in the domain of sign language recognition.