Huawei Australia to launch AI-powered app for hard-of-hearing children

Huawei Australia has partnered with Deaf Australia to launch its StorySign application in Australia, which helps children who are deaf or hard of hearing to learn to read.

Children who are deaf can struggle with learning to read. When it comes to learning to read, some struggle with the lack of options helping to bridge the gap between sign language and reading.

The application uses Huawei's AI-powered image recognition and optical character recognition to translate featured books into sign language page-by-page with the help of an avatar named Star.

The app will be available for free in February 2019 from the Google Play Store and Huawei's AppGallery.

“At Huawei, we believe in the power of AI and that technology can make a positive difference in the world," Huawei Australia corporate responsibility manager Lisa Connors said. "We created StorySign to help make it possible for families with deaf children to enjoy the truly magical moments of story time.”

"Created with experts and charities from the deaf community, StorySign was developed to ensure its use as a genuinely useful tool for families with deaf and hearing-impaired children.”

Huawei Australia partnered with Deaf Australia to support the local community and to help raise awareness of deaf literacy.

“Deaf children don’t learn to read in the same way as hearing children," Deaf Australia chief executive Kyle Miers said.

"Many struggle to learn how to read because they can’t match words with sounds. The deaf community is in need of accessible content to address children’s literacy development needs and digital tools like StorySign is addressing this necessity.

"For this reason, we are privileged to be working with Huawei on the StorySign project and how, through the use of AI and innovative technology, it could enrich the lives of Australian deaf children and their families in a meaningful way.”

The two organisations also partnered with the European Union of the Deaf to create the app as well as publishing partner Penguin.