A Bilingual Social Robot with Sign Language and Natural Language

Abstract

In situations where both deaf and non-deaf individuals are present in a public setting, it would be advantageous for a robot to communicate using both sign and natural languages simultaneously. This would not only address the needs for diverse users but also pave the way for a richer and more inclusive spectrum of human-robot interactions. To achieve this, a framework for a bilingual robot has been proposed in this paper. The robot exhibits the ability to articulate messages in spoken language, complemented by non-verbal cues such as expressive gestures, all while concurrently conveying information through sign language. The system can generate natural language expressions with speech audio, spontaneous prosody-based gestures, and sign language displayed on a virtual avatar on a robot's screen. The preliminary findings from this research showcase the robot's capacity to seamlessly blend natural language expressions with synchronized gestures and sign language, underlining its potential to revolutionize communication dynamics in diverse settings.