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The Featured Challenge 

Inclusion fails when communication fails

Deaf and hard-of-hearing people are required to adapt themselves to hearing‑centric systems that were never designed for them, resulting in loss of dignity, exclusion from critical information, and unequal participation in everyday and high‑stakes life – not because of individual limitations, but because communication infrastructure remains audio‑first, fragmented, and treated as optional rather than essential. 

Deaf astronaut Shelia Xu explains why Deaf and hard-of-hearing people are forced to meet hearing standards – and what a truly modern solution must look like: integrated, multimodal, privacy-respecting, and built with Deaf leadership.  

Sheila Xu – deaf aspiring Astronaut | Astro Access

The Impacted community

Deaf:

Often capitalized (“Deaf”), this refers to individuals who identify with Deaf culture, share a common heritage, and primarily use sign language.

Interpreters:

Individuals comfortable in both Deaf and hearing worlds.

Hard of Hearing (HoH):

Individuals with some usable hearing, often navigating both hearing and Deaf worlds, using spoken language, hearing aids, or lip-reading.

What is needed by the community?

The community needs safe, reliable, and privacy‑respecting communication solutions that work for everyone. This includes high‑quality automatic speech recognition, visual, tactile, and text‑based alerts, and seamless access to both remote and in‑person sign language interpreting. Solutions must support people who use hearing technologies (such as hearing aids or cochlear implants) as well as those who do not, and be consistent, easy to access, and dependable across everyday and critical situations, with privacy built in by design.

Areas and type of engagement

The solution must support two core areas of engagement. Everyday use includes customer service, appointments, classrooms, meetings, and social interactions – where accessibility enables routine participation and independence. Critical use covers emergencies, safety announcements, transportation, healthcare, and disaster response – where access to information is time‑sensitive, safety‑critical, and essential for wellbeing.

What are the barriers to seamless inclusion?

Seamless inclusion is limited by reduced availability and variable quality of in‑person and remote interpreters, and by the technical complexity of sign language, which requires accurate tracking of hands, facial expression, and body movement. Live captioning, hearing loops, and related technologies often lack consistency and reliability, are spread across multiple platforms that may require installation, and are delivered unevenly across settings. Privacy concerns further limit trust and adoption, particularly in sensitive or critical contexts.

Who is responsible for this Modern solution?

Deaf community organisations play a central role in confirming community needs, supporting co‑design of the modern solution, and providing formal alignment through letters of support and shared logos to demonstrate trust and legitimacy. Technology companies are responsible for designing and building the solution in partnership with the community, with continuous feedback mechanisms so the system evolves based on real‑world use. Governments must lead the change by setting direction, standards, and enabling conditions for inclusive access. Businesses are responsible for procuring, maintaining, and embedding the modern solution as a core operational capability, and for updating internal policies and procedures to ensure consistent, inclusive engagement with the deaf community.

A Modern solution for inclusion for the deaf community in society

A modern solution must enable real‑time sign language interpreting with two‑way visual and auditory communication, designed to work seamlessly across everyday and critical settings. It should be privacy‑led by design, ensuring safe and trusted interactions, and delivered through simple, reliable, and easy‑to‑use hardware that removes complexity and supports consistent access for the deaf community.