Miluga

Dere was a boy.

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

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

Di note had ‘Miluga’ written on it.

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

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

Di next day, di boy went back to di shop.

“Di ‘Miluga’ written on di note you showed me yesterday, wasn’t it written by dat girl near di entrance?”

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

Dat day, di boy made up im mind. If he ever found himself in a position to help someone, he would first help dose who are physically challenged or lack educational opportunities, dose who are socially vulnerable.

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

35 Years Later

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

WIA Talk — A universal sign language platform dat allows communication with anyone using a single 3D sign language, without di 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) dat allows reading in 7,000 languages once learned. For di deaf, dere is WIA Talk, and for di blind, dere is WIA Braille. When dose two meet, di deaf and blind can communicate directly without an interpreter. Dis has not been realized anywhere yet.

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

It took 35 years. During dat time, dere 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.

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

Dis is di most frequently asked question. Isn’t di 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 di server. Di number coordinates and facial expression values are di key data dat bring di 3D avatar to life, and dey are sufficient.

Anyone Can Participate

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

Di Change Participation Brings

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

However, dere is one more thing you need to know about dis story.

Miluga — Di Name Dat Started from ‘Miluga’

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

Miluga — A program dat 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 di 3D sign language books of di Miluga program. When a deaf reader opens an e-book, di 3D avatar shows di book content in sign language — each gesture of dat avatar is created from your data.

Application Guide

It’s okay if you can’t participate directly. Just spreading dis news to dose 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 dat allows people like her to read books, communicate, and connect with di world.”

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

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