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Emergencies, the avatar comes to the rescue in sign language

The virtual assistant, developed by QuestIT and Regola, supports the user with deafness who calls 112 and 118

by Alessia Maccaferri

10 July 2024

3' min read

Key points

How does it work?
Service via smartphone
How did the project come about?
The QuestIT route

3' min read

A state-of-the-art avatar, capable of understanding and producing Italian Sign Language (Lis), has been created in Italy to provide immediate and effective help to deaf people in the event of an emergency. The person in need of support calls the reference number, 800 800 112, and then receives a link on their smartphone.

How does it work?

The hyperlink will take the user to the FlagMii Eml platform, used daily by 118 and 112 emergency call centres to facilitate interaction between emergency number operators and citizens or tourists in need of help, where he or she will find the virtual assistant. "In the near future, we envisage that the avatar will be able to answer relevant questions asked by the deaf user directly in sign language in real time," adds Ernesto Di Iorio, CEO of QuestIT, a Sienese tech company, which has entered into a strategic partnership with Regola, a software solutions provider specialising in public safety and emergency management.

Using Lis, the digital twin will ask for the type of emergency for which it has been called, providing the user with a series of clickable icons. Once the option has been chosen, the avatar will signal to a live professional who will take charge of the situation and handle the next steps.

Service via smartphone

"When a deaf person contacts emergency numbers, he or she is often in a state of agitation and, for this reason, needs to interact with the operators in the most natural and quickest way possible," explains Massimiliano Palma, CEO of Regola. "Thanks to the platform, these situations are eliminated: the citizen, in fact, can use his or her smartphone to receive questions and instructions from the emergency operators in Lis even without the need for an interpreter. I would also like to point out that it is only possible to view the virtual twin on the platform after calling the reference number and receiving the link'.

How did the project come about?

The project stems from a challenge launched by the City of Turin, which, together with the Piedmont Region's Nue 112 service, called on companies and start-ups to offer them the opportunity to co-finance the initiative and, at the same time, test cutting-edge solutions to improve communication in Lis in the event of emergencies or needs.

The first experimentation will be carried out by the House of Emerging Technologies (Cte Next), an innovation hub financed by the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy (Mimit). "With Cte Next, we decided to support real-life testing of innovations enabled by emerging technologies that bring concrete results for citizens, with a special focus on people with disabilities. With the QuestIT avatar, we take another step in this direction,' explains Chiara Foglietta, Councillor of the City of Turin for Ecological and Digital Transition, Innovation, Mobility and Transport.

Easy integration

The service can be used on any smartphone and can be integrated into systems that equip assistance and rescue operations centres, not only those of the 112 single emergency number but also services such as municipal police and fire brigades, among others. "The service is accessible from tablets, PCs and any mobile device, guaranteeing great versatility and ease of use. It can be fully integrated with first-aid centres and other emergency services, making it an excellent solution for critical situations. Our proprietary technology is designed to facilitate interaction between the different systems with maximum efficiency. This saves considerable time and resources, avoiding the need to replace or upgrade existing devices of authorities such as the municipal police or fire brigade. Furthermore, the implementation of our service does not require any structural changes, ensuring a smooth and seamless transition for those authorities that choose to adopt it," explains Di Iorio.

The QuestIT route

This project is the first experimentation of a technology developed last year together with the University of Siena and the CNR. "The Algho Lis technology is constantly evolving, not only because we are extending the application corpus to all market sectors, but also because we are refining and improving the way we acquire the training datasets to train Ai to communicate in this language. The collaborations we are implementing look to the academic world, several Italian universities that are pioneers in the implementation of courses entirely in Sign Language, but also support PhDs on the subject,' says Di Iorio, CEO of the Sienese company, which closed 2023 with a turnover of EUR 3.4 million, recording 33% growth for three consecutive years. The company has 42 employees distributed between its headquarters in Siena and an office in Puglia.

Alessia MaccaferriCaposervizio Nòva 24 - Il Sole 24 Ore
Luogo: Milano
Lingue parlate: italiano, inglese
Argomenti: innovazione sociale, impact investing, filantropia, fundraising, smart cities, turismo digitale, musei digitali, tracciabilità 4.0, smart port
Premi: Premio Sodalitas (2008), premio Natale Ucsi (2006), European Science Writer Award (2010)
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