“SAWAN” speech to sign conversion avatar for deaf people

Abstract

Communication is fundamental to human interaction, yet for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) community, with more than 466 million globally and around 300,000 in Sri Lanka, sign language is the primary means of expression. In Sri Lanka, this takes the form of Sinhala Sign Language (SSL), a unique system partially influenced by British Sign Language (BSL) [1]. Despite its significance, technological solutions supporting SSL remain limited. SAWAN is a cross-platform speech-to-sign conversion system designed to bridge this communication gap by translating Sinhala speech into SSL using a 3D avatar. It leverages HamNoSys for structured sign representation and SiGML for machine-readable animation, enabling real-time sign generation. By integrating a sign learning platform and translation tools, SAWAN provides a better solution to support both communication and education for the local Deaf community.