Huawei is to extend its investment in StorySign, in an effort to enhance the experience for Deaf children in Ireland.
Back in 2018, using AI and augmented reality, Huawei created StorySign – a literacy platform for deaf children. Learning to read can be difficult for any child, but for small children who are severely or profoundly deaf, it can be an overwhelming challenge.
StorySign is a free mobile app that aims to help deaf children read by translating the text from selected books into sign language. Through the power of AI and augmented reality, StorySign brings these books to life and helps deaf children enjoy storytime as every child should.
StorySign supports ten sign languages, namely English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Irish, Belgian Flemish, and Swiss-German.
Four new books have been added to the StorySign library, and the app has also been launched on iOS, meaning that families of Deaf children can avail of its services regardless of what kind of smartphone they own.
The app promises to create an authentic reading experience in order to enrich the experience of storytime for Deaf children and their families.
Huawei Ireland’s Country Director Byron Maxi stated:
At Huawei, we believe that when you bring together human imagination with the power of our Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, we can do something for the greater good.
‘Huawei has worked closely with the Irish Deaf Society throughout the StorySign campaign to raise awareness of Deaf literacy issues and develop the app as a long-term resource that grows over time and continues to benefit the Deaf community in Ireland.
Walter Ji, President of Huawei’s Western Europe Consumer Business Group, commented on the extension of the availability of the StorySign app to all smartphones:
‘At Huawei, we want to use our technology to make the world a better place — no matter where you live or what smartphone you use — whether it’s Android or iOS.
‘Thirty four percent of the people who have downloaded the free StorySign app have become daily active users, which reinforces our commitment to helping more Deaf children learn to read and makes us proud to continue developing and expanding StorySign.’
Chief executive officer of the Irish Deaf Society John Sherwin stated:
Education tools that enhance the use of Irish Sign Language at home are vital when tackling early development of language, cognition and literacy.
The Irish Deaf Society are proud to support Huawei with its long-term vision to help open the world of books to Deaf children through StorySign. The expansion of the StorySign library, a new language and wider availability mark an important step towards helping Deaf children enjoy story time.
StorySign is available to download from the Huawei App Gallery,  Google Play Store and the App Store.
