For the Week of the Deaf, Snapchat is introducing brand-new augmented reality lenses and stickers that teach basic sign language. With guidance from its Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing team members, Snapchat created tools with artificial intelligence and computer vision technology from SignAll, which boasts the ability to recognize and translate American Sign Language.
With one of the lenses, Snapchat users will get a basic lesson in fingerspelling, and after that, another lens helps users learn to fingerspell their username, along with other commonly used words.
Alongside the new augmented reality lenses, Snap newly introduced Bitmoji and Cameos selfie stickers with common signs. With all of these new features, Snap aims to help people communicate in more ways.
ASL Social Media Lenses
Snapchat Launched New Features in Honor of the Week of the Deaf
Trend Themes
1. ASL Education Lenses - The use of AI and computer vision technology to teach American Sign Language through augmented reality lenses and stickers creates an opportunity for new ways of language education.
2. Inclusive Social Media - The launch of new features that aim to accommodate the hard-of-hearing community creates opportunities for businesses to cultivate a more inclusive environment by integrating features that cater to marginalized groups.
3. Gamification of Language Learning - The introduction of interactive and gamified learning tools like lenses and stickers fosters an opportunity to transform the traditional methods of language learning into an engaging and interactive form.
Industry Implications
1. Social Media - Social media platforms can leverage AR and AI technologies to create more accessible and inclusive experiences for their users.
2. Language Education - The use of interactive and gamified tools in language instruction opens opportunities for innovative and engaging language education.
3. Assistive Technology - The use of computer vision and AI technology in assisting hard-of-hearing individuals creates potential for further innovations in accessibility technology.