Connan, JamesSegers, Vaughn MackmanDept. of Computer ScienceFaculty of Science2013-12-042024-10-302011/02/212011/02/212013-12-042024-10-302010https://hdl.handle.net/10566/16950Masters of ScienceThe communication barriers between deaf and hearing society mean that interaction between these communities is kept to a minimum. The South African Sign Language research group, Integration of Signed and Verbal Communication: South African Sign Language Recognition and Animation (SASL), at the University of the Western Cape aims to create technologies to bridge the communication gap. In this thesis we address the subject of whole hand gesture recognition. We demonstrate a method to identify South African Sign Language classifiers using an eigenvector ap- proach. The classifiers researched within this thesis are based on those outlined by the Thibologa Sign Language Institute for SASL. Gesture recognition is achieved in real- time. Utilising a pre-processing method for image registration we are able to increase the recognition rates for the eigenvector approach.enImage processingDigital techniquesEigenvectorsOptical pattern recognitionSign languageThesisUniversity of the Western Cape