Virtual Signing for Inclusive eGovernment Services

1. eSIGN – Essential Sign Language Information on Government Networks • eContent project (5th Framework IST) • Coordinator: University of Hamburg • Institute of German Sign Language andCommunication of the Deaf

2. eSIGN Consortium • U Hamburg (DE) – Coordinator • Systematics Integrations (EDS subsidiary, DE) • Norfolk City Council (UK) • Viataal (NL) • U East Anglia (UK) • Televirtual (UK) • Royal National Institute for Deaf People (UK)

3. Consortium Synergy Virtual Signing UH UEA TVL Community access RNID IvD SI NCC eGovernment

4. Sign Language & the European Deaf Community • Sign language is the closest-to-native language for the Deaf community • 0.1% of the European population • No written form of sign language • Written language competence of many Deaf people poor • Bilingual education spreading slowly

5. Project Idea: Virtual signing into eGovernment initiatives • Virtual signing reduces bandwidth problems with digital video • Relatively easy=cheap and flexible production process • Ensures Deaf people’s integration into a key component of tomorrow’s Information Society (cf. anti-discrimination acts) • Multilingual focus: British Sign Language, Deutsche Gebärdensprache, Nederlandse Gebarentaal

6. Virtual Signing on theWorld Wide Web

7. Builds on ViSiCAST Animation and Language Technology • IST project 2000–2002 • Virtual signing on television, in counter transactions and on WWW

8. ViSiCAST Technologies • Motion capture • Motion realistic animation • Better compression than video • Expensive hardware required • Synthetic animation • Looks more robotic but is comprehensible • Even lower data rate • More flexible

9. Participation in eGovernment Services • Information services • One-way • Transaction services • Two-way, but restricted back channel • Communication services • Two-way, unrestricted

10. eSIGN Information Services • Freestyle text • Generated with an „intelligent“ sign language editor • Requires a human translator • Lexicon synthetic

11. “Intelligent” Sign Language Editor

12. eSIGN Information Services (2) • Schematised text • Language model for restricted context • Automatic translation allows frequent updates • Lexicon synthetic or motion capture

13. eSIGN Transaction Services • Form filling with signed prompts • Introduction and help texts with signed prompts • Answers as numbers or text, the latter preferrably multiple choice • Lexicon synthetic or motion capture

14. eSIGN Contents: Germany • Systematics & UH • eGovernment components within hamburg.de • Leading role of a European capital • Mainly information, partly schematised text

15. eSIGN Contents: Netherlands • IvD with support from UEA • Job service for Deaf people • Focus on form contents

16. eSIGN Contents: UK • Norfolk, RNID & UEA • „Life events“ concept offered by county council • Focus on filling forms

17. Exploitation • Client software will be made available free of charge to the Deaf community so that the three eSIGN sites will immediately become accessible to the target group. • Enabling Deaf people’s political participation not only a social objective, but becoming a legal requirement through national anti-discrimination acts. • We provide and demonstrate a versatile and cost-effective possibility to create sign language versions of eGovernment portals that delivers quality without substantial bandwidth requirements.

18. Exploitation (2) • The approach taken can be adapted for other European sign languages, this requires building the appropriate lexicons. • Once the tools are in place, the model is not restricted to eGovernment, but can be applied to B2C contexts such as mail order, virtual travel agencies etc. • It is not only the (comparatively small) customer target group, but also the prestige to careabout a handicapped customer group.