Kiki, Virtual Human Interpreter
Award: Shortlist
Shortlist / Digital Design / Inclusive / 2024
Award: Shortlist
Shortlist / Gaming & Virtual Worlds / Use of Avatars
Japan, a highly earthquake-prone nation, features an advanced early-warning system in multiple languages, except Sign Language. To cater to Japan's 300,000+ deaf community, NHK introduced Kiki, the world’s first text-to-sign Emergency Alerts translator. With 16k signed words, Kiki transforms plain text into real-time Japanese Sign Language (JSL) video via a web-app. Kiki aims to go beyond Emergency Alerts and is designed to provide accessibility at scale; she can already be found guiding Museum tours in Tokyo, and soon she’ll be at airports and airlines across Japan.