Davao del Norte students develop app for real-time sign language translation

Students from Kapalong National High School in Davao del Norte created a mobile application that aims to bridge communication gaps for the hard of hearing.

According to Martin Javier’s report on “24 Oras,” Friday, the app Digital Expression Available For You, or Deafy, can translate sign language into text and convert text back into sign language in real time.

It was developed by a group of students led by Jhydd Mahinay, with guidance from mentor-teacher Maricel Timbal.

Timbal, who once had a student with hearing difficulties, said the project was born out of the need to foster inclusivity in the classroom.

“When it comes to inclusivity, he has the difficulty to blend in especially in performing assigned tasks, like reporting, roleplay since none of us can converse him with the sign language he is using,” she said.

“Our app can handle any language,” Mahinay said.

To address connectivity concerns in the province, the app also allows users to download datasets of specific sign languages for offline use.

“We include that since we are in a province, so we consider the signal and so we include it in our feature to download a data set of a certain sign language so that they can use our app even if in offline mode,” Timbal said.

Currently a standalone app, Deafy’s developers are working on making its code compatible with online meeting platforms, as well as expanding its translation capacity to include more languages.

“There are other similar apps pero they're limited lang po in the language in their area po, so we're planning to create an app that could be used globally,” Mahinay said.

—Carby Rose Basina/CDC, GMA Integrated News