
Open-Source Code for Hand Gesture Recognition – Sign Language Translation - bgrynol
https://github.com/google/mediapipe/blob/master/mediapipe/docs/hand_tracking_mobile_gpu.md
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jekub
There is nothing here close to sign language translation. Hand gesture are a
very small and quite easy part of sign language who involve all the upper part
of the body and face and use a lot of context and placement in space.

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imglorp
Yep this is fingerspelling, a small part, used for names and things there
aren't signs for.

Here's an instructor running at medium speed for clarity. Experts go faster,
drop more letters bcs cn undrstd wthout thm, and combine motions, like
dipthongs.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yizRk2CP9gs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yizRk2CP9gs)

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qgadrian
What amazes me it’s that a relatively new language easy to use (no voice, no
accent distortion) it’s not a global standard and we need tools like this to
translate the different language signs.

This situation feels very stupid IMO.

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euske
It is a common misconception (dare I say prejudice) that gestures are
"universal" and therefore easy to learn/unify sign languages. Sign languages
are a full-fledged natural language with nuances and complexities, just like
spoken languages. Their grammar tends to be spatial as well as temporal, and a
typical signer can express abstract concepts and its relationships using
different placement/movement of signs. The reason why it's diverse is that
most sign languages have been organically developed (just like spoken
languages pre radio/TV era) in mostly isolated deaf communities.

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rmetzler
Even just a simple head movement depends on the culture, as nodding for "yes"
and shaking the head for "no" is not universal [0][1]. And this doesn't even
account for something like the "indian head bobble". [2]

Another example is the use of index finger and thumb to create an O. [3]

So if these very simple examples depend on the culture, I expect signing to be
much more localized.

[0]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nod_(gesture)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nod_\(gesture\))

[1]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_shake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_shake)

[2]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_bobble](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_bobble)

[3]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OK_gesture#Negative_connotatio...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OK_gesture#Negative_connotations)

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dgellow
Can someone change the title? It seems to be Google open sourcing the code,
not GitHub.

~~~
shakna
There's also a fair distance between hand detection and "Sign Translation". To
begin with, most sign has both hands overlapping.

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tigerlily
Ha, I read the headline and thought it was "git by gesture".

This is because I'd recently watched "Perl out loud", a talk this year by
Emily Shea (2shea):
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz3JeYfBTcY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz3JeYfBTcY)

