GoMakeADifference

AISA Platform

A web and app based platform to address the challenges face by deaf and hearing loss communities and hosting an event to celebrate the app and the collective power of inclusivity.

Background

Using the grant, we managed to team up with a group of individuals including designers and programmers to create the first version of our app (available on Google Play) along with launching our website, which was a huge milestone for our project.

AISA App empowering daef and hearing loss individuals

This primary version of the app provides features such as Text-to-Speech and Speech-to-Text functionalities. These features will enable deaf individuals to convert and communicate in written form and obtain written transcripts of spoken language, bridging the communication gap between hearing and deaf individuals. Furthermore, the grant helped us to expand our research on our main feature, the Sign language translator, leading to the AISA’s image processing algorithm research paper.

In order to test the App, we held an event also known as “AISA Event” to bring the deaf community together, celebrating both the app and the collective power of inclusivity. This event wasn’t just about lines of code or app downloads. Early users shared stories of newfound confidence, expressing themselves freely and forging deeper connections. The app empowered them to access information independently. More importantly, for us, this event was the ultimate reward and motivation to continue working on our project. Through this event, we managed to secure a lot of positive and constructive comments on our platform, which led us to further improve the app.

At the AISA Event, we brought together over 30 members of the Deaf community to present the first version of the AISA application

As a part of the event, we performed extensive market research across several DHL communities, including precise questionnaires, surveys, and interviews with over 50 DHL individuals and several activists in this field (Age range of 14 to 50 years old with different hearing levels). As part of our research, we traveled to Tehran, the capital of Iran, to visit a Deaf and Hearing Impaired Center. Our goal was to gather comprehensive information about this community directly from the center’s manager and activists who are deeply involved in advocating for the rights and needs of the hearing-impaired.

How They Made A Difference

AISA isn’t just an app; it’s a bridge. Its technologies like Speech-To-Text and Text-To-Speech can act as a conversation bridge between the deaf and hearing loss community with others.

How The Project Made A Difference for the Volunteers

In short, we had some tough times in the R&D stage, looking into different communities. It was a mix of tough and fun moments at the same time, but the challenging part was not having too much information about people with disabilities! We made the first version of the AISA App, Published it on Google Play, and had an incredible AISA Event. We learned a lot and faced many challenges, but in the end, we made some smart decisions to make AISA happen and to make a difference together!

The AISA Platform also managed to secure several different prizes and achievements including becoming the Gold medal project in the “Harvard CS50x Fair 2023″ among over 32,000 participants and hundreds of projects, and became nominated as one of the top projects in both ”CAP Annual Conference 2022” and ”CAP Annual Conference 2024”. As part of our solutions, we also started the first Sign Language Club at UWC Atlantic College, called “Sign By Side”, teaching British Sign Language to interested students and promoting inclusivity in the college.

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It was like a little adventure we're proud of, finding our way even when things get a little bit challenging!