Speech-to-sign-language translation software has come a long way in the last ten years.

 

We can't wait to see what comes of the award-winning speech-to-sign language translation software written by a team from Thailand -- EyeFeel - which just won the main category of a Microsoft (News - Alert)-sponsored software development contest for students, the Imagine Cup.

 

PC World reports that four students from Kasetsart University in Bangkok won the $25,000 prize for the software design category, ahead of six other finalists. It certainly wasn't easy: Students worked 12-hour days for six months to complete their entry, relying on strict planning to get them through logistical problems caused by riots and political instability in their home country.

 

Imagine Cup entrants had a few rules. They needed to use Microsoft software development platforms to further one or more of the United Nations' Millennium Goals for 2015. These include halving extreme poverty, halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education.  

 

The Thai team's software, EyeFeel, combines speech recognition, face recognition and sign-language animation to offer real time translation for people with hearing problems.

 

"The voice recognition module captures the speech and converts the sentence so it fits the grammar of sign language," Team Skeek captain Pichai Sodsai told IDG News Service. "The sign language is then animated on the screen, while face recognition is used to distinguish different speakers."

 

In order to make the software viable, the team needed to make efficient use of resources. "We make extensive use of multithreading code to combine all parts of the software into one, functioning whole," Sodsai told news media. "Each part needs to run next to the other. It could not be done without that."