There is a communication gap between users of sign language and the use of verbal language in the majority of society. As a result, users of sign language have less accessibility to common communication forms such as news, information channels, literature, television and radio. These circumstances heavily restrict the individuals’ opportunities to be immersed in society and culture, often leading to social isolation, exclusion and loss of opportunity.
In order to bridge this communication gap, the entrepreneurs are working on DITA, the Deep Immersive Transcription Adapter, a software package that translates verbal language from any audio-, text-, or image file into sign language. DITA builds upon recent advancements in the field of Natural language processing, machine learning and animation technology. By improving and creating access to information, education, and entertainment, users of sign language face less barriers to participate on cultural and social platforms. This will provide the individual with more control in their life situation, and an improved quality of life.
In the long term, the DITA project hopes to create a more socially sustainable society. They hope that DITA will dismantle the high threshold for people with hearing disabilities to participate in educational platforms and the workforce. The normalization of a product of DITAs nature will help to build more awareness surrounding the inclusion of sign language users and improve perspectives on disability as a social problem and not only a problem of the individual. As such, DITA will contribute to a better life for some, but improving a sense of community and dismantling incorrect attitudes towards disability for all. DITA has the potential to significantly reduce the tension in democratic and linguistic human rights currently transpiring globally.
The Dutch company NoWa Kitchen presented its newest kitchen featuring only bio-based materials and a sustainable cradle-to-cradle design. A key enabler for the kitchen are plant-based polymers and materials brought to market by the University of Amsterdam’s spin-off company Plantics, stemming from a discovery made by chemists at the Van ‘t Hoff Institute for Molecular […]
NewsInnoseis recently marked a significant milestone – a decade of pioneering work in seismic sensing. The company, a spin-off of VU and the National Institute for Subatomic Physics, Nikhef, uses precision motion sensing for seismic and guidance applications. We sat down with CEO Mark Beker and CTO Jo van den Brand to learn more about […]
NewsIn the race to a sustainable and healthy future, the benefits of biotech innovations are key. Both biotech academics and entrepreneurs must continue to turn knowledge into social and commercial successes. Nettie Buitelaar, Biotech Booster ‘s CEO, answers five questions in order to tell us how to boost new biotech innovations. The Biotech Booster programme […]
News