Deaf and hard-of-hearing commuters who need help with routes, directions, announcements, or other MRT-related enquiries will soon find it easier to get support, thanks to SiLViA – a new virtual assistant that communicates in sign language.
FingerDance, a growing social impact deep tech start-up, is working with The Singapore Association for the Deaf (SADeaf) to break down these barriers for Deaf and hard-of-hearing commuters. Soon, such commuters at Chinatown MRT station will be able to receive directional assistance from SiLViA, the Sign Language Virtual Assistant, at a kiosk within the station, thanks to a partnership between FingerDance and SBS Transit.
Deaf and hard-of-hearing commuters can say or type their queries on the screen, and SiLViA will respond through both spoken and sign language, ensuring that all commuters receive essential information in real time.
SiLViA is the flagship product of FingerDance, a pioneering Singapore-based start-up co-founded by Gong He, a passionate technologist who was inspired by the challenge of communicating with his Deaf friends.
Created based on FingerDance's flagship product, “FingerDance Sign LLM", SiLViA features proprietary Sign Language AI translation and AI avatar technology, offering accessible sign language information services. This product supports natural translation between spoken language and sign language to enhance information and service accessibility for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities.
Using AI to enable accessible and more inclusive information for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities
Realising the limitations of text-based communication, Gong He and other co-founders Zeng Zhen, Xuanqi, Xuanzhuo, and Sunhao embarked on a journey to leverage their technological expertise to bridge this gap. “We started to think about whether we can use our tech background to do something different. That’s the beginning of the whole journey,” he recalled.
FingerDance’s groundbreaking propriety Sign Language large language model (LLM) generative AI technology is transforming their vision of seamless communication into reality. This generative AI technology uses a diverse collection of real-world sign language data to translate spoken language into sign language.
In order to ensure the accuracy of the LLM, FingerDance is working with The Singapore Association for the Deaf (SADeaf) to integrate Singapore Sign Language (SgSL) into their products. This close collaboration with SADeaf and the Deaf community ensures that native Deaf signers are involved in the development of this product. Their valuable input and feedback is vital to authentically and accurately record the sign language used by the Deaf community. In parallel, FingerDance is working with SBS Transit to co-create and refine SiLViA. Once launched, SiLViA is expected to improve information accessibility in the commuting experience for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing.
Besides trialling SiLViA at Chinatown MRT station to provide travelling information through sign and spoken language to commuters, FingerDance’s AI technology also offers accessible sign language information services for web-text, news, events, and conferences. Supported by the robust core AI model, it ensures continuous technical support and updates to its sign language services, facilitating information accessibility in both the physical and digital worlds.
Scaling up with NUS Enterprise and strong industry collaboration
Bringing their vision into reality proved challenging, especially in achieving product-market fit within a B2B environment. Convincing stakeholders in government and industry sectors required extensive market research and a clear demonstration of their innovative solutions' potential impact.
The team's belief in their product eventually paid off, as they successfully navigated these challenges with significant support from the NUS Enterprise ecosystem. This invaluable support system provided mentorship, resources, and networking opportunities crucial to their success. Programmes such as the NUS GRIP enabled FingerDance to refine their products and business model, benefiting from insights and collaboration from industry experts.
In July this year, FingerDance was announced to be one of seven start-ups that will receive funding from a new Technology for Sustainable Social Impact (TS2) accelerator programme established by NUS Enterprise and the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise (raiSE), which committed USD3.5 million to growing tech-based social enterprise start-ups. The start-up will also work out of the new BLOCK71 Social Impact Hub opened by NUS Enterprise, a dedicated space for purpose-driven ventures to further develop their tech-based solutions to solve pressing social issues.
FingerDance has received positive responses for their products during their start-up journey. Companies and end-users look forward to using their products in the future. This feedback not only validates the team’s efforts but also fuels their commitment to continuous iterations. “Every time we get positive feedback during our workshops with different users, it gives us the confidence that our work will be useful for them,” shared Gong He.
“In the future, we plan to integrate more sign languages in different countries and regions, using our solutions to benefit Deaf people all over the world.” By collaborating with associations and organisations worldwide, they aim to provide a global solution for the Deaf and Hard-of-hearing communities, wherever they may be.
The team envisions a future where inclusivity is the norm, and communication barriers are a thing of the past. Their partnership with NUS Enterprise remains pivotal in their growth strategy, facilitating access to new markets, potential investors, and a supportive entrepreneurial community.
FingerDance is a trailblazer for inclusive communication in Singapore, revolutionising the way the Deaf and hard-of-hearing navigate their daily commute. With ongoing support from NUS Enterprise, they are poised to make significant strides in inclusive communication as they expand and innovate.
