Nvidia

AI-powered sign language education that changes lives

Transcript

Let’s start with this technology that we expect to be launched. The new program uses AI to teach anyone who wants to learn American Sign Language, and it is completely free In the us. 11 million people are deaf or have significant difficulty hearing. 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents who can’t communicate with them without sign language. They face language deprivation, impacting learning opportunity and connection. Language is not just a tool, it’s the foundation of identity learning and belonging. In 2021, we launched finger spelling xyz, an interactive tool for learning the A SL Alphabet. But the alphabet is just the beginning sign. Language is rich, expressive, and deeply nuanced. That’s why in collaboration with Nvidia and the American Society for Deaf Children, we built signs, an AI powered platform that revolutionizes sign language learning by blending advanced technology with an intuitive user friendly approach through your camera and an interactive avatar. The platform provides step-by-step visual guidance tracks your movements in real time and offers instant feedback. This engaging experience empowers users to explore sign language in a way that’s never been possible before, helping to bridge the gap between the deaf and hearing worlds. But science is more than a learning tool. It’s a living, breathing community. By contributing videos of themselves, signing users help expand a growing open source data set of a SL signs, making the platform smarter, more accurate, and more inclusive. And we were heard with zero paid media signs, reached over 20 million people at launch, and was featured across more than 300 media outlets and across social media. More importantly, we’ve already taught over 25,000 signs breaking down communication barriers, one sign at a time, and this is just the beginning. The more people use signs, the better it gets because deafness is not a disability. Language deprivation is.

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For 11 million Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals in the U.S., access to effective communication is a daily challenge.

The stakes are even higher for deaf children. Ninety percent are born to hearing parents who may have little to no experience with sign language.

Without early exposure to American Sign Language (ASL), these children risk language deprivation, a condition that can impact cognitive development, education, and emotional well-being.

a father teaching his son sign language


But learning ASL on your own has always been difficult. While incredible teachers, ASL programs, and schools offer instruction, many people don’t have access to them. Traditional ASL classes can be expensive and geographically limited. Video tutorials exist, but they lack what learners need most: feedback.

They don’t tell you when your hand position is slightly off. They don’t help you adjust your movements in real-time.

ASL education needed a revolution—one that could make learning more interactive, more accessible, and more immediate. One that could empower learners, bridge the gap between the Deaf and hearing communities, and make mastering ASL more intuitive for anyone, anywhere.

signs app
purple robot hand

First of its kind AI-platform

In collaboration with NVIDIA and the American Society for Deaf Children, we created Signs. This first-of-its-kind, AI-powered sign language platform makes learning ASL as natural as a conversation.

Signs transforms any camera into an interactive sign language coach using cutting-edge AI, computer vision, and machine learning.

  • Step-by-step guidance: A 3D avatar demonstrates each sign from multiple angles
  • Real-time feedback: AI tracks the user’s hand movements, providing instant corrections
  • A growing ASL database: Users contribute videos of themselves signing, helping to train the AI and build an ever-expanding, open-source dataset

For the first time, learners don’t just watch—they interact. They get immediate, personalised feedback. They practice confidently, knowing that every correction brings them closer to fluency.

And it’s working.

screenshot of signs app

Signs launched with zero paid media—and still, the world listened.

  • Featured on CNN, Axios, VentureBeat, and across global media
  • A rapidly expanding dataset fuelling the future of AI-powered sign language recognition

+1b

earned impressions

+20m

people reached in the first week

+20,000

signs learned in 10 days

Building a global AI movement

Signs is not just teaching ASL—it’s shaping the future of AI-powered accessibility:

  • 400,000+ video clips and 1,000+ signs in development
  • Continuous AI training, refining recognition of complex sign movements and expressions
  • A dataset made publicly available by NVIDIA, allowing researchers and developers to build the next generation of AI-driven accessibility tools—from real-time sign language translation in video conferencing to an AI assistant that understands sign language.

By opening up this dataset, Signs isn’t just helping individual learners—it’s fuelling a future where AI doesn’t just recognise sign language but understands it.

Signs is free, open to all, and constantly improving.

  • Learn – Start signing today at signs-ai.com
  • Contribute – Record and upload signs to help expand the dataset
  • Share – The more people use Signs, the smarter it becomes
“

Ultimately, our goal is to connect families, friends, and communities by making ASL learning more accessible while simultaneously enabling the creation of more inclusive AI technologies.


”

Michael Boone, NVIDIA

robot saluting

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