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Inclusion Through Accessibility. Handi Bot, a Translator for Portuguese Sign Language

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Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction (HCII 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 14020))

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Abstract

The project described in this paper is based on the concepts of accessibility and inclusion, with a special focus on the online experience of deaf people. Digital inclusion is inevitably linked to accessibility, as technologies allow for better integration into society through their association with opportunities, citizenship, and knowledge. A significant part of people with hearing impairment have difficulty understanding textual information, as Portuguese is not their first language and, being a phonetic language, it is difficult to learn since a profoundly deaf person cannot associate sounds with characters. That said, the first language of a deaf person is sign language and they prefer online communication in sign language through video, thus avoiding writing or reading. Most sites still do not legitimize sign language, creating a barrier in communication since accessing any information requires knowledge of Portuguese. Our project is therefore trying to eliminate these barriers and thus improve the online experience of these people. We start from the concept of Assistive Technology, which are resources and services that aim to facilitate the daily activities of people with disabilities. They seek to increase functional capacities and thus promote the independence and autonomy of those who use them. To this end, we developed Handi, a translator bot that works through a browser extension and translates into sign language any content that appears in the browser, be it text or video. Handi Bot contains accessibility options responding to most user needs. To develop the bot, extensive user research was carried out, with interviews with deaf people and the entire UX design methodology was followed to reach a sustained result.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CIAUD, Research Center for Architecture, Urbanism and Design, Lisbon School of Architecture, University of Lisbon, Rua Sá Nogueira, Pólo Universitário, Alto da Ajuda, 1349-063, Lisbon, Portugal

    Sónia Rafael & Francisco Rebelo

  2. ITI – Interactive Technologies Institute/LARSyS, Faculty of Fine-Arts, University of Lisbon. Largo da Academia Nacional e Belas Artes, 1249-058, Lisbon, Portugal

    Sónia Rafael & Francisco Rebelo

  3. Faculty of Fine-Arts, University of Lisbon. Largo da Academia Nacional de Belas Artes, 1249-058, Lisbon, Portugal

    Beatriz Pinto, Andreia Gil, Catharina Lima, Joana Chitas, Marta Pascoal & Lúcio Simões

Authors
  1. Sónia Rafael
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  2. Francisco Rebelo
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  3. Beatriz Pinto
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  4. Andreia Gil
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  5. Catharina Lima
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  6. Joana Chitas
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Correspondence to Sónia Rafael .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Foundation for Research and Technology, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    Margherita Antona

  2. Foundation for Research and Technology, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    Constantine Stephanidis

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Rafael, S. et al. (2023). Inclusion Through Accessibility. Handi Bot, a Translator for Portuguese Sign Language. In: Antona, M., Stephanidis, C. (eds) Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction. HCII 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14020. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35681-0_30

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35681-0_30

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