Students create app to connect deaf people

deaf people - Photo 1.

A group of students from Lac Hong University created an app to connect the hearing impaired - Photo: NVCC

From the experience of difficult communication with a hearing-impaired driver, a group of students from Lac Hong University ( Dong Nai ) developed Adley - an application that supports sign language translation, providing a new bridge of connection for disadvantaged communities.

After more than three months of implementation, Adley won second prize at the final round of the 7th Engineering Project in Community Service (EPICS) organized by the University of Arizona (USA) and Dow Vietnam.

Sign language interpretation support

Student Minh The, a member of the group, shared that the idea of Adley was conceived by the group after a small but meaningful event. While hiring a tricycle to transport things for the club, they happened to meet a deaf driver. "This experience left a lot of thoughts in the group. The idea of a project to support sign language interpretation gradually took shape," Minh The expressed.

Student Hoang Gia Huy, Adley's team leader, explained that the app supports both deaf and hearing people. Users can enter text, record audio or video for the system to translate into sign language through vivid illustrations.

To develop the app, Adley's team applied machine learning technology, training an artificial intelligence (AI) model based on a dataset from the Vietnamese sign language dictionary. "Up to now, although the application's information processing speed is still a bit slow, the accuracy is almost complete," Gia Huy affirmed.

Not only does it offer translation, Adley also includes a library of free sign language courses with paid in-depth learning options. In particular, the app also expands its job search support feature for the deaf community.

"The group wants to open up learning opportunities for beginners, build a cohesive community, share and support each other. Besides, the group also wants to create a bridge to job opportunities, contributing to helping them improve their quality of life and become more confident in society," Gia Huy shared.

Learn to listen to the weak

With four members - Hoang Gia Huy, Vu Thi Kim Huong, Vi Hoai Thuong (market research), Pham Bao Minh The (AI data collection), the team divided the working process into four stages: idea generation, research and planning, product deployment, completion and presentation preparation.

However, the journey was not smooth. The biggest challenge was reaching out to the deaf community to get real feedback. "It was those conversations that helped the team better understand the real needs and gave them the motivation to develop the project in a more meaningful and closer way to the community," Hoai Thuong shared.

Seeing Adley named runner-up at EPICS this year, Mr. Bui Xuan Canh - the project's instructor - was moved not only by the achievement but more importantly by the spirit that the students showed.

"At first, I just hoped that you could create a feasible product that was applicable and demonstrated a sense of community responsibility. But then you stepped out of your "comfort zone" as an engineering student to learn how to listen to the disadvantaged, go to the bottom of their story and put your heart into the product," Mr. Canh confided.

Project of humanitarian significance

The representative of the EPICS jury this year assessed that the Adley project clearly demonstrated the humanistic spirit when technology is placed in the role of connecting and serving the community. Accordingly, besides being a technology product that supports communication, Adley also carries the message of sharing and accompanying the disadvantaged.

The group of students demonstrated that technology combined with empathy creates powerful ripple effects.