Passenger information using a sign language avatar - Individual travel assistance for passengers with special needs in public transport

Kurzfassung

Public transport operators are legally obliged to ensure equal access to transportation services. This includes equal access to information and communication related to those services. Deaf passengers mostly prefer to communicate in sign language. For this reason, the specific needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing passengers still are not adequately addressed – despite the tremendous efforts public transport operators have put in providing accessible communication services to their passengers. This article describes a novel approach to passenger information in sign language based on the automatic translation of natural (written) language text into sign language. This includes the use of a sign language avatar to display the information to deaf and hard-of-hearing passengers.