弘益人間 — 널리 인간을 이롭게
WIA Talk 3D 수어 자원봉사자 모집
Yuh hand sign go be somebody first conversation
Miluga
Wah one bwoy deh.
One day when him deh inna him second year a high school, him go a di corner shop pon di hill fi run an errand. Di likkle shop run by one old couple. Inside, him see one girl ’bout di same age a look fi something, but di bwoy nuh pay much mind an just try fi buy wah him need an come out.
Den di owner grandmother call di bwoy an stop him. She hand him a likkle paper an ask him fi read wah it say.
Di note say ‘Miluga’.
Di bwoy start fi think ’bout wah word him coulda guess. Di only ting him coulda come up wid a flour, an him say it might be flour. Di grandmother thank him, an di bwoy go home.
But di thought keep a linger. ‘Di grandmother weh sell tings nuh suppose fi cyaa read…’
Di next day, di bwoy go back to di shop.
“Di note yuh show me yesterday weh say ‘Miluga’, dat girl weh deh by di entrance write dat, nuh true?”
Di grandmother surprise an ask how him know. Di girl was one child weh have trouble wid communication. She couldn’t talk fi buy one flour, so she write ‘Miluga’ pon di paper.
Di bwoy make up him mind dat day. If him ever get inna position fi help somebody, him ago help di ones weh have physical challenges or lack learning opportunities, di vulnerable ones inna society.
[코리안투데이] ‘Miluga’ — A story start from one bwoy memory © 코리안투데이 편집국
35 years later
Thirty-five years pass. Di bwoy establish (주)스마일스토리 inna 2009 in South Korea, an inna 2018, him set up WIA (World Certification Industry Association) in Estonia. Him carry di meaning fi make di world better wid di most advanced technology fi humanity, an him create di technology fi keep dat promise.
WIA Talk — A universal sign language platform weh allow yuh fi communicate wid anybody widout needing fi learn different sign languages (ASL, KSL, BSL…). An WIA Braille (wiabraille.com) — A universal braille system based pon IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) weh allow yuh fi read 7,000 languages after yuh learn it once. Fi di deaf, dem have WIA Talk, an fi di blind, dem have WIA Braille. When di two come together, di deaf an di blind can chat directly widout any interpreter. Dis a something weh never happen anywhere yet.
Di technology ready. Di 3D avatar show di sign language, di lip sync move, an express emotions. But fi dis avatar fi move more naturally — it need real people’s hand movement data.
It tek thirty-five years. Inna di meantime, dere musta be people weh turn back widout even buying one flour. If it did happen faster, maybe one more person coulda reach earlier.
Right now, we a recruit volunteers from 254 language regions at di same time.
[코리안투데이] WIA Talk 3D 수어 자원봉사 프로그램 안내 모습 © 코리안투데이 편집국
How fi participate inna di volunteering
Yuh can do it from home, yuh just need a web browser. No special skills or sign language experience needed.
① Pre-briefing (about 15 minutes) — Learn 93 WIA Talk gestures through video. We guide yuh so yuh can follow even if yuh nuh have sign language experience
② Recording (about 30 minutes) — Yuh follow di gestures on di screen wid yuh hand. Di webcam only capture di hand joint coordinates (numbers) an expression values
③ Simple confirmation — We check di recording data together an wrap it up
④ 3D avatar creation — A natural 3D sign language avatar will be created from di collected coordinates data
Total time needed: about 1 hour
Di video nah go save — only di numbers remain
Dis a di most asked question. If yuh record wid di webcam, di video nah go save?
Di video file nah go save. Di technology extract two ting in real-time.
Hand coordinates — X, Y, Z coordinates of 21 hand joint points (numbers). Dis recreate di hand movements of di 3D avatar.
Expression values — Di values for mouth movement, eyebrow position, an odder numerical data (morph target values). Dis used fi create di lip sync an natural expressions of di 3D avatar.
Di only ting weh go save is dis numbers. Yuh face image or video file nah go remain pon di server. Di number coordinates an expression values a di key data weh make di 3D avatar come alive, an dat alone enough.
Anyone can participate
👋
Deaf
People weh express sign language directly
⠿
Blind
People weh want fi participate wid WIA Braille
🤝
Hearing
Anyone weh empathize wid dis work
[코리안투데이] WIA Talk 자원봉사 프로그램 weh a recruit from 254 language regions at di same time © 코리안투데이 편집국
Participation create change
Di hand coordinates data weh yuh send go become di gestures of di 3D avatar. Dis avatar go be used inna di e-books of WIA Books (wiabook.com), allowing di deaf fi read di books inna sign language. Dis a something weh never happen anywhere before.
But dere is one more ting yuh need fi know ’bout dis story.
Miluga — di name weh start from ‘Miluga’
Di girl weh want fi buy flour but couldn’t talk, so she write ‘Miluga’ pon di note. We nuh know di girl name. But dat three-letter name now become di name fi di accessibility program of WIA Books (wiabook.com).
Miluga — A program weh provide free reading access fi UNHCR verified refugees, severe hearing impaired, an severe visually impaired individuals to all published books.
🌏
Refugees
Free reading access to all books fi UNHCR verified refugees. AI assistant an support inna 254 languages.
🤟
Deaf
Free reading access to all books + 3D sign language support fi severe hearing impaired. Yuh volunteer data a go used here.
♿
Blind
Free reading access to all books + TTS voice + WIA Braille support fi severe visually impaired.
Yuh participation go directly reflect inna di 3D sign language books of di Miluga program. When di deaf reader open di e-book, di 3D avatar go show di content inna sign language — each hand movement of di avatar a made from yuh data.
Di volunteer webcam → Collect hand joint coordinates data
→ Improve di quality of di 3D avatar gestures
→ Upload to WIA Books sign language books
→ Provide free reading access to refugees, deaf, an blind through di Miluga program
→ Fi di first time, read di books weh yuh couldn’t read before
Application details
Application page: https://wia.live/volunteer.html
Email inquiries: global@thekoreantoday.com
Recruitment period: Ongoing recruitment
Recruitment scope: Simultaneous recruitment from 254 language regions worldwide
Even if yuh can’t participate directly, dat okay. Just spreading di word ’bout dis to yuh surroundings go be a big help. We appreciate if yuh share it pon social media or tell people who interested inna sign language.
“Di girl weh want fi buy flour but could only write ‘Miluga’. Now, thirty-five years later, technology a create fi people like dat girl fi read books, communicate, an connect wid di world.”
WIA — World Certification Industry Association
Since 2018, Estonia · 弘益人間
✉ global@thekoreantoday.com
#WIA_Talk #3D수어 #자원봉사 #홍익인간 #농인 #수어도서 #WIA_Book #Miluga #난민 #254Languages
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