Sign Language Teaching App

Pasimo

Sign Language Teaching App

Empowering organisations to become more accessible for the Deaf and hard of hearing community through high-quality sign language education.

Durham, UK

United Kingdom

For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models

In the UK, 1 in 5 people are Deaf or hard of hearing. Despite making up a large proportion of the population, their experiences differ enormously compared to those in the hearing community. Over 80% of those who are Deaf have terrible experiences while in retail shopping, and only around 1 in 3 are employed. We want to help organisations better engage this underserved community, making them more accessible spaces to visit and work in. Currently, this is difficult. Globally, access to sign language education is challenging. Learning platforms do not match the quality of spoken language tools such as Duolingo. They tend to lack the nuance of the language, so the community rejects them. They tend to be unable to give you feedback on how well you are doing, so learners reject them. At Pasimo, we want to develop new methods, alongside the community, of learning sign language - a “Duolingo for Sign Language”. By adopting modern computer vision technology, we want to be able to give the user real-time feedback on their performance. This will radically improve learner outcomes. By working with organisations, we will make them more inclusive spaces, broadening access to society for the community.

We are building a “Duolingo for Sign Language.” It will be a learning and development platform aimed at teaching organisations the basic sign language necessary to create better experiences for their Deaf and hard-of-hearing customers and employees. Initially, we are developing within XR headsets - such as the Meta Quest 3 - because of the access they give you to high-quality, real-time, hand and body tracking. We can provide information on the non-manuals of the language (ie, your facial expressions) while tracking how your hands and body move. From this, we can give you feedback on your performance. Sign Languages - just like spoken languages - have regional dialects. Those in the north of England sign differently from those in Scotland, for example. Working with the community, we want to centre this knowledge. Depending on where you access our app, you should get regionally appropriate teaching. Aside from providing a more accurate learning experience, we are also able to serve as a language preservation tool in a time where there is a homogenisation of the language. While we are initially focusing on BDL, we hope to take our learnings and apply it to other signed languages, such as American Sign Language.

While our customers are organisations (we aim to be b2b), the solution really exists to serve the Deaf and hard of hearing community. Our solution aims to widen access to sign language education, increasing communication between the hearing and Deaf communities. Overall, this will result in a society that is more accessible and inviting. The sign language edtech space has not been adequately explored, partially due to the underrepresentation of Deaf and hard of hearing individuals in research and technology roles. According to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, over 70% of the Deaf community are displeased with their experiences with retail, hospitality, admin and medical health staff. There is a need to improve this. Raising awareness and teaching more of the public sign language is a solution the community themselves see: over 70% of the BSL community have said an increase in sign language knowledge would make them more comfortable. In the workplace, over half of Deaf and hard of hearing individuals report being discriminated against. Education can also help here. Creating more accessible workplaces also has the benefit of increasing the number of potential employers for the Deaf community, which currently only has a 37% employment rate.