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For Deaf people , train travel can be a gamble . But an AI-powered Auslan avatar can help
By Jessica Korte
For Deaf people , train travel can be a gamble . On an average day , nothing goes wrong : they catch their train to their destination and carry on with their business .
But when something out of the ordinary happens , the situation can quickly get scary , because most updates are only delivered by audio announcements . A Deaf traveller may miss their train because it was moved to a different platform , or watch as their station whizzes by because the train isn ’ t stopping there today . They may also remain on a train carriage in an emergency after everyone else has evacuated , and have to be rescued by station staff .
Every single one of these examples has been drawn from the real life experiences of Deaf people in Sydney . But my colleagues and I are working with Sydney Trains and members of the Australian Deaf community to develop an advanced , artificial intelligence ( AI ) -powered signing avatar which can automatically translate audio announcements into Auslan .
Our work on the avatar also builds towards the next step : developing AI systems which can “ understand ” Auslan .
Journeys don ’ t always go to plan
Earlier this year , my colleagues and I ran a pilot study with three Deaf train travellers in Sydney . As well as the stories they shared about what can go wrong during train travel , we learned they use tried and tested strategies for making their journeys go smoothly .
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