BabyBSL

Baby BSL (babybsl.com) uses Augmented Reality (AR) storytelling to delight and motivate parents and carers to use British Sign Language to interact and communicate with pre-verbal children.

BSL is an AR storybook that combines books and smartphones to support the Hearing Parents of Deaf and Hearing Children in learning British Sign Language (BSL). By combining cutting edge technologies: AR, video and audio with simple narratives, Baby BSL is an interactive illustrated children’s pop-up storybook and communications aid.

Baby sign language is a recognised support for hearing families to communicate with children who cannot yet speak. This communication barrier is considered a possible cause of The Terrible Twos, when a child has independent thoughts and wishes but cannot express them. Using sign bridges this gap, helping children express complex concepts earlier. Baby BSL addresses the lack of intuitive teaching assets for hearing families, and inspires and empowers parents to learn to BSL at home.

VIKA will create a test edition of the Baby BSL buggy book to reach out to an audience of 3000 users across the South-West who may not have access to support structures for learning BSL. In this edition, we will test the publishing run, potential distribution networks, data collection opportunities, the sustainability of the business model, as well as the potential for wider applications.

VIKA are proud to be supported by: Innovate UK’s Audience of the Future Award, BDH Immersive, The Deaf Studies Trust, The Watershed, VS1 Productions, Elmfield School for the Deaf and the SWCTN.

About the Team

Baby BSL is published by VIKA Books in collaboration with BDH Immersive. Illustrations by Jasmine Thompson. VIKA are creators of hybrid books with an AR/MR element. We combine award-winning book designs with ‘groundbreaking’ digital innovations to showcase the future of immersive publishing. www.vikabooks.com