A video coding system for sign language communication at low bit rates

The ability to communicate remotely through the use of video as promised by wireless networks and already practised over fixed networks, is for deaf people as important as voice telephony is for hearing people. Sign languages are visual-spatial languages and as such demand good image quality for interaction and understanding. In this paper, based on analysis of the viewer´s perceptual behavior and the video content involved we propose a sign language video coding system using foveated processing, which can lead to bit rate savings without compromising the comprehension of the coded sequence. We support this claim with the results of an initial comprehension assessment trial of such coded sequences by deaf users.