We work on projects that connect technology and language.

Language technologiesWe bring together experts with deep technology skills – in computer science, design and engineering – with those who have psychology, neuroscience, education, speech pathology and linguistic expertise to address language communication challenges in areas such as:

  • Language transcription
  • Supporting people living with dementia
  • Facilitating First Nations peoples to access their languages in new ways
  • Sign language technologies

Professor Janet Wiles at the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language 

 

 

Video: Talks at Google: Talking with Robots, Professor Janet Wiles

  • ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language
    CoEDL is investigating language as diverse, dynamic and evolving systems that interacts with our perceptual processes in intricate ways. Understanding why the world’s languages are designed so differently—and how our minds acquire and exploit them to achieve different outcomes—will help generate important scientific insights and exciting new technologies. UQ Node technology projects bring together technology (computer science, interaction design, neuroscience, engineering) and language (linguistics, psychology, psycho-linguistics) to address language challenges on the border of these two areas. 
  • Florence
    The Florence project designs communication technology to assist people living with dementia 
  • OPAL
    The OPAL project is a collaboration between engineering, computer science, psychology, interaction design, and robotics with the aim of building social robots for studying child-robot interaction. 
  • Animettes
    Towards the design of open-ended tangible technology to foster story building 
  • Transcription Acceleration Project (TAP)
    The Transcription Acceleration Project (TAP) is a CoEDL project aimed at identifying the workflow of linguists during transcription, and developing assistive tools to accelerate that process.Elpis is  a key tool that has been developed within the TAP project, using cutting-edge speech recognition technology to obtain a first-pass transcription on untranscribed audio. Access Elpis GitHub. View LADAL 2021 Webinar : Semi-Automated speech recognition using ELPIS: J. Wiles & B. Foley
  • Discursis
    Discursis is communication analytics technology that allows a user to analyse text based communication data, in the form of conversations, web forums, training scenarios, and many more.  
  • Harlie
    Harlie is a chat bot developed in collaboration with CSIRO and UQ 
  • Language robots 
    In collaboration with the Ngukurr Language Centre, our team is designing a social robot inspired by Opie to be used in the community. 
  • Lingodroids
    Lingodroids are language learning robots that play location language games to construct shared lexicons for places, distances, and directions. 
  • Auslan Communications Technologies Pipeline Project (TAS)
    The Auslan Communication Technologies Pipeline project is a three-year project which will develop a modular pipeline of artificial intelligence systems. It is part of the Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence CRC.