Silence Speaks Has Created AI-Powered Signing Avatars for the Deaf

After a rethink, Madduru and his team approached the problem differently, developing technology capable of translating text into BSL and ASL. The current version runs in the cloud and takes time to generate the signing from text input, but the company is working toward real-time on-device translation. Madduru suggests this is still at least a year away, partly because the team has set high standards for accuracy. But real-time sign translation could effectively give deaf folks an interpreter in their pocket.

A future version that can translate speech, text, and sign language in any direction is a truly tantalizing prospect. For now, the focus is to build a strong foundation, prove that the technology works, and show it has a role to play in immediately improving accessibility for the deaf. The platform includes built-in captioning functionality for deaf users who don’t sign or are still learning sign language.

Transport Trials

Silence Speaks is getting a huge lift with Transport for London—the agency responsible for more than 250 stations and all the Metro lines in the UK’s capital. It plans to roll out the Silence Speaks AI-powered sign language avatar to make trains more accessible for the deaf and hard of hearing by offering visual displays for train announcements. People can also scan QR codes on their phones to get sign language videos with the latest information.

A greeting cards company also employs Silence Speaks technology to create birthday and other event cards. Each card contains a QR code that the recipient can scan to stream a special signed video message on their phone.

One of the cool things about the tech is that licensees can create their own characters to serve as signing AI avatars. Characters can be photorealistic or cartoonish. For this article, I submitted a single photograph to create my avatar for the videos. While AI usually struggles with hands, my digits look perfect for accurate signing, but my face is downright weird (weirder than usual). My kids find it creepy, but it’s not a million miles away, and companies will likely spend longer refining their chosen characters. There is even scope to use popular characters like Spider-Man or Wonder Woman as sign interpreters.

Getting on Board

Silence Speaks has been gaining momentum ahead of another investment round. Chloe Smith, former secretary of state for Science, Innovation, and Technology, who led the 2022 legislation to recognize British Sign Language in UK law, has joined as chair of the company’s board.

“People who use sign language can often be excluded, and that’s wrong,” she tells WIRED. “We hope that our app will help deaf communities and hearing communities to communicate better together.”