KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 ― Local information technology company Siasitok is offering an innovative take on learning sign language using a combination of flashcards and augmented reality (AR).
The Siasitok Sign Language Flashcards with Augmented Reality aims to make learning sign language a fun and stress-free process for everyone.
Founder and one of Malaysia’s backup astronauts, Awang Shahrizan Awang Abu Bakar said it all began when he was asked for help by a friend having trouble communicating with his deaf daughter.
“It’s difficult for parents with deaf children to attend sign language classes at the associations.
“They would have to participate in a three-day course from morning until evening which is time consuming, and they still need to do revision afterwards,” Awang told Malay Mail.
He took sign language classes before deciding to use his skills ih photography in creating sign language flashcards.
He added AR to the flashcards to make it easier for users to learn by viewing the correct sign gestures through the AR application on their smartphones.
There are other options for deaf people such as hearing implants and hearing aids, which unfortunately it is not ideal for everyone in terms of cost.
“For hearing aids, it is between RM1,800 to RM18,00 while for hearing implants it is from RM15,000 to RM250,000.
“It’s the same as smartphones, we have the high-end product and we have the standard issue, so the cheaper ones are not as good.
“Sometimes the cheaper hearing aids causes as it takes in raw sounds, you can hear a coin dropped from afar as you could not control the sound on the cheaper devices.”
Awang also added that even if the deaf people could hear again via technological advancement, speaking will pose as another problem to them as they would not know how to pronounce words, let alone understand what they’re saying themselves.
He highlighted that 120 countries around the world use the same sign language although there are some differences in dialect like in Indian sign language.
It however affects only 20 percent of the sign languages.
“Communication is important to everyone, especially to the deaf community as they’re just a small community in Malaysia.
“Out of the 34 million people in Malaysia, there are about 100,000 to 200,000 deaf people and they are constantly overlooked.
“That’s why I’m doing this, to help them and at the same time empower them by giving them jobs,” Awang said.
Siasitok has also been working with the Melaka Deaf Association in supplying jobs for the deaf community there.
Jobs includes packing of flashcards and housekeeping services at budget hotels around Melaka.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic however, housekeeping jobs are currently unavailable to them.
Siasitok has produced five modules for their sign language AR flashcards which includes topics on animals, family, food and drinks and places which are all ideal for schools with deaf children.
Awang added that they’re planning to introduce a total of 22 modules in the future to further strengthen their sign language vocabulary.
“It’s not just about the flashcards but it's about the technology that can help them because this is just the beginning.
“We’re planning to introduce a sign language board game and also learning sign language via Virtual Reality and we aim to achieve this within five years,” Awang said.
Siasitok was founded in 2013 by Awang with the aim of producing teaching aids which can make learning sign language easy, fast, and effective.
Since it was introduced, Siasitok has won numerous awards for their innovative creation which includes the 2019 Youth Co:lab and also the 2019 Facing Up with Social Entrepreneurship (FUSE).
The Siasitok Sign Language Flashcards with Augmented Reality costs RM38 per box while the AR application can be downloaded for free on the app store.
