Miluga

There was a boy.

One day during his second year of high school, he went to a small hilltop shop on an errand. It was a small shop run by an elderly couple. Inside, there was a girl of similar age who seemed to be looking for something, but the boy didn’t pay much attention and tried to buy what he needed and leave.

At that moment, the shop owner, an elderly lady, called the boy over. She handed him a small piece of paper and asked him to read what was written on it.

The note had ‘Miluga’ written on it.

The boy thought of a word he could guess. He could only think of ‘flour’ and suggested it might be flour. The lady was grateful, and the boy returned home.

However, he kept thinking about it. ‘The shop owner probably knows how to read…’

The next day, the boy went back to the shop.

“The ‘Miluga’ written on the note you showed me yesterday, wasn’t it written by that girl near the entrance?”

The lady was surprised and asked how he knew. The girl had a disability that made verbal communication difficult. She wrote ‘Miluga’ on the paper because she couldn’t communicate to buy a bag of flour.

That day, the boy made up his mind. If he ever found himself in a position to help someone, he would first help those who are physically challenged or lack educational opportunities, those who are socially vulnerable.

[The Korean Today] ‘Miluga’ — A story that began from a boy’s memory © The Korean Today Editorial

35 Years Later

35 years have passed. The boy founded SmileStory Inc. in South Korea in 2009 and established WIA (World Certification Industry Association) in Estonia in 2018. With the intention of benefiting the world with the most advanced technology of humanity, he has been creating technology to keep that promise.

WIA Talk — A universal sign language platform that allows communication with anyone using a single 3D sign language, without the need to learn different sign languages (ASL, KSL, BSL…) for each country. And WIA Braille (wiabraille.com) — A universal braille system based on IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) that allows reading in 7,000 languages once learned. For the deaf, there is WIA Talk, and for the blind, there is WIA Braille. When these two meet, the deaf and blind can communicate directly without an interpreter. This has not been realized anywhere yet.

The technology is ready. The 3D avatar shows sign language, moves lip-sync, and expresses emotions. But for this avatar to move more naturally — data of actual human hand movements is needed.

It took 35 years. During that time, there must have been someone who turned away without being able to buy a bag of flour. If it had been faster, it could have reached one more person sooner.

Now, volunteers are being recruited simultaneously from 254 language regions.

[The Korean Today] WIA Talk 3D Sign Language Volunteer Program Guide © The Korean Today Editorial

How to Participate in Volunteering

You can do it from home, with just a web browser. No special skills or sign language experience is required.

Videos Are Not Saved — Only Numbers Remain

This is the most frequently asked question. Isn’t the video saved when filming with a webcam?

Video files are not saved. Our proprietary technology extracts two things in real-time.

Only these numbers are saved. Your face image or video file will not remain on the server. The number coordinates and facial expression values are the key data that bring the 3D avatar to life, and they are sufficient.

Anyone Can Participate

[The Korean Today] WIA Talk Volunteer Program Recruiting Simultaneously from 254 Language Regions Worldwide © The Korean Today Editorial

The Change Participation Brings

The hand coordinate data you provide becomes the gestures of the 3D avatar. This avatar is embedded in the e-books of WIA Books (wiabook.com), allowing the deaf to read books in sign language. This is something that has never existed anywhere in the world before.

However, there is one more thing you need to know about this story.

Miluga — The Name That Started from ‘Miluga’

The girl who wanted to buy flour but could only write ‘Miluga’ on a note. We don’t know her name. But those three letters have now become the name of the accessibility program of WIA Books (wiabook.com) 35 years later.

Miluga — A program that provides free access rights to all published books for UNHCR verified refugees, severely hearing-impaired, and severely visually impaired individuals.

Your participation is directly reflected in the 3D sign language books of the Miluga program. When a deaf reader opens an e-book, the 3D avatar shows the book content in sign language — each gesture of that avatar is created from your data.

Application Guide

It’s okay if you can’t participate directly. Just spreading this news to those around you can be a great help. Sharing on social media or telling someone interested in sign language would be appreciated.

“There was a girl who wanted to buy flour but could only write ‘Miluga’. Now, 35 years later, technology is being created that allows people like her to read books, communicate, and connect with the world.”

#WIA_Talk  #3DSignLanguage  #Volunteer  #弘益人間  #Deaf  #SignLanguageBooks  #WIA_Book  #Miluga  #Refugees  #254Languages

📰 기사 원문 보기

<저작권자 ⓒ 코리안투데이(The Korean Today) 무단전재 및 재배포 금지>