Snapchat innovates by offering its users to learn sign language thanks to an augmented reality filter, ASL Alphabet. An original way to raise public awareness of the condition of the deaf and hard of hearing.
What if Snapchat filters were used for something other than adding more or less fun special effects to videos? The American company has just launched an original tool called ASL Alphabet which uses augmented reality to learn sign language in a fun way thanks to hand tracking. You can learn to spell your name and use the manual alphabet through games. In practice, all you have to do is stand in front of the smartphone camera and repeat the indications displayed on the screenthe application analyzing in real time the gestures made to indicate whether they are compliant or not.
One of a kind, this filter is the result of a collaboration with SignAll, a Hungarian start-up that has developed an artificial intelligence technology capable of automatically translating sign language on computers. ASL Alphabet Lens was developed with Snapchat’s team of deaf and hard of hearing employees, the Deafengers, a portmanteau combining the terms deaf (deaf, in English) and Avengers (in reference to the famous saga of superheroes). marvel hero).
Through this new function, Snapchat, which had already participated in raising awareness of deafness on the occasion of the International Day of the Deaf, wishes to break its somewhat futile image by getting involved in actions of an inclusive nature. “We hope that Lenses will change the way we see the world, but also help us feel closer to each other. For native signers, in a world where linguistic inequality is prevalent, we believe that reality augmented reality can help evolve the way we communicate,” explains Snapchat in a press release.
For now, the filter only works with ASL (American Sign Language), the American sign language. It should indeed be known that as for oral or written languages, sign language varies according to the country. Snapchat has not given any information as to the declination of this new function in other languages, and in particular for French. But the end of the official communication suggests that the company is waiting for the feedback of its users to develop its tool…