Publication date: 
2021/12/13
Watch in a short video how our Christmas card was made with FEL CTU robots and researchers in the main roles. The Christmas video with robots has so far been viewed by more than 25 thousand people on social media of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of CTU.

The Silent Language application was created by FIT CTU graduate, Ing. Jindřich Žák, who in his master’s thesis built upon the prototype already developed as part of the bachelor's thesis of student Bc. Alžběta Gogoláková, intended as a support tool for learning sign language. The application consists of several teaching modules; each module contains 10-20 lessons on specific topics (e.g. weather, seasons, family, age). As students gain knowledge, more modules become available to sign language learners.

"Although I believe that learning with a "live" lecturer is not quite replaceable, the advantage of the application is that the student can play the video with the sign or sentence repeatedly and can practice it at home before the next lesson in person in the Silent World," says the author and FIT CTU graduate , Ing. Jindřich Žák.

The basis of each lesson is a set of short videos where the lecturer demonstrates a given word or sentence in sign language. The videos showing the whole sentence are often accompanied by a short text description of the individual signs that make up the sentence. For example, the sentence "I failed to bake a cake, I'll throw it away." consists of the signs: "I + cake + bake + failed + throw away." The resulting app is directly linked to sign language courses and currently serves primarily as a sign language learning support tool for students in physical or online courses hosted by the Silent World. The possibilities for further use are under discussion.

"I am very pleased that we are cooperating with the Faculty of Information Technology of Czech Technical University in Prague, where a useful tool is being developed as part of the master’s thesis and is being used further. It helps the non-profit sector and, in this case, our students to orient themselves in learning sign language," says Leoš Mačák, director of the non-profit organization Tichý svět - chráněná pracoviště, o. p. s.

The Silent Language app is available for download on Google Play or the AppStore as a benefit for course students.

Photo: The Silent Language application