Chinese university startup’s new AI platform translates text to sign language for deaf
- Chris McMillan
- Oct 12
- 2 min read
Interesting Engineering
11th October 2025
Chinese university startup’s new AI platform translates text to sign language for deaf
The tool is designed to bridge communication gaps and promote inclusion for people with hearing impairments.
By Bojan Stojkovski
While China’s AI sector continues to accelerate, driving economic growth and reshaping entire industries, a growing number of researchers are turning their focus toward using AI for social good.
Among them is Su Jionglong, deputy dean of the School of AI and Advanced Computing at Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University, who studies how the technology can help reduce discrimination, provide emotional support, and enable faster medical diagnoses.
Together with his students, Su is building a startup called Limitless Mind, which has developed an AI-powered platform that translates written text to and from sign language – a tool designed to bridge communication gaps and promote inclusion for people with hearing impairments.
Smart glasses and AI avatars bring sign language to life
Su explained that the team’s lightweight, proprietary AI model can run on mobile devices or be integrated into smart glasses, where virtual avatars translate speech into sign language or display real-time text for easier communication.
Discussions are already underway, with local governments and industrial parks eager to back the project and bring it to market. Su said their goal goes beyond innovation for its own sake – they aim to create technologies that meet tangible social needs. With tools like these, he added, students with disabilities could learn more effectively, patients could communicate more clearly with doctors, and workplace discrimination could be significantly reduced.
Su and his students are now exploring a new generation of assistive technologies, including platforms that can translate lip movements into text and brain–computer interfaces capable of turning brainwaves into written language – innovations that could one day help control driverless vehicles or enhance accessibility for people with disabilities, the South China Morning Post reported
The urgency behind such research is growing – a study published in the Chinese Medical Journal in January projected that by 2060, more than 240 million people in China will experience moderate to complete hearing loss, which is nearly twice the number recorded in 2015. Su noted that his background in mathematics, statistics, and engineering has given him the foundation to tackle the complex challenges of AI, from data analytics to pattern recognition and modeling.
Using big data to train AI for empathy and healthcare
One major advantage of developing artificial intelligence in China lies in the availability of large, high-quality datasets, particularly coming from hospitals that are often willing to share medical information for research purposes. Such access, Su explained, accelerates the development of AI tools in areas like healthcare and emotional support.
Su’s team is collaborating with Shenzhen-based Mind with Heart Robotics, a company creating electronic pets and humanoid robots designed to act as emotional companions and psychological support systems. These robots could assist autistic children who struggle to express emotions. Through machine learning, they can analyze facial expressions and classify emotional states in real time, helping caregivers respond more effectively.
The Chinese scientist added that his research also extends to medical imaging, where AI models are trained on vast datasets to identify subtle symptoms such as facial puffiness, swelling, or discoloration that may signal disease.
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