LISA - Lingua Italiana dei Segni Accessibile: a progressive web app to support communication between deaf people and public administrations

Most deaf people use Sign Language (SL) to communicate. This usually requires the presence of an SL interpreter to mediate and decode the communication with a non-deaf person. However, the presence of an SL interpreter to support a deaf person can be very difficult, expensive and not always possible, for example during the COVID-19 pandemic which requires limiting contact between people in presence. This work proposes a Progressive Web Application (PWA), called LISA, as a solution to facilitate communication between a deaf citizen and a non-deaf person, thanks to a remote Sign Language Interpreting Service (SLIS). The LISA prototype is designed to promote the communication of deaf citizens with the Public Administrations (PA). This real-time SLIS can be used flexibly on different types of devices (i.e. mobile and desk). This allows PA operators to easily respond to the needs of deaf citizens. Furthermore, to facilitate written communication and to overcome the difficulties encountered by deaf people in writing text messages, the LISA system integrates a text/SL gateway. The user selects items from a gallery of GIF images that represent simple pre-set phrases and words in SL, and the system can also convert them into text. This improves accessibility by offering a more suitable messaging tool than a text chat for the needs of the target population.