Engineering graduate turns parents’ struggle into sign language technology

Inspired by his “hard of hearing” parents, a University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) student developed a South African Sign Language (SASL) to Speech Translation System for his final-year project. Akhil Hansrajh, an alumnus of Raisethorpe Secondary School, recently graduated with a BSc Engineering (Computer Engineering) degree. The computer vision-based system uses a custom-built artificial intelligence model alongside an established machine learning framework to track a person’s body landmarks and identify signs in real time. ALSO READ | Deaf UKZN graduate aims to advance inclusion for SASL users It was trained on a custom SASL dataset and can recognise individual letters and words, converting the interpreted signs into speech with a text-to-speech model. My parents encounter communication barriers in everyday settings such as banks, government departments, and municipal offices. “My sister and I have often had to accompany them to speak on their behalf,” said Hansrajh. His research could help break down these communication barriers. “A production-ready system would empower these individuals to communicate more easily and effectively, without requiring the other party to have learned SASL,” he said. ALSO READ | Deaf graduate breaks barriers in bioinformatics Hansrajh said he hoped the project would assist others born deaf or with hearing disabilities. Raisethorpe principal Pragalathan Gounden said the school was proud of Hansrajh’s achievements. He is a student who is always dedicated to his studies and to his parents. This is a wonderful achievement and for him, his parents and the school. “We know that his work will bring assistance to the hearing-impaired community,” he said. Hansrajh’s supervisor, Dr Sulaiman Patel, said the project was among the first assistive-technology projects in UKZN’s Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering (EECE) discipline to focus specifically on SASL. Despite the project’s personal significance, Hansrajh’s journey to graduation was not without difficulties. ALSO READ | Northdale college breaking barriers for deaf students Patel said he experienced mental health challenges in the second semester of 2025 and required an extension on his first project submission. With support from Patel, including referrals to student counselling and regular wellness check-ins, Hansrajh regained momentum and received a highly commended award from EECE for his final-year project. With one module still to complete in 2026 and financial difficulties to contend with, Hansrajh was recommended by Professor Tahmid Quazi for an interview at a local company. He secured a job and worked full-time while completing his studies. He plans to continue developing the system, particularly improving its ability to recognise words and produce cohesive, fluent speech. ALSO READ | Hefty sentences for KZN Blind and Deaf Society fraudsters In the long term, he hopes to pursue a career in software, networking or artificial intelligence and machine learning. “Through UKZN, I was able to experience university life to the fullest and meet people who share my interests,” he said. My lecturers taught me not only the theory and methods, but also how to apply them, and that knowledge will form the foundation of my career ahead. Thank you, UKZN!