A Free Quito Platform Uses AI to Teach Ecuadorian Sign Language

Students and faculty at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE) have developed SeñaPUCE, a free platform designed to help people learn Ecuadorian Sign Language (LSEC) and practice communication with digital tools.

The project was developed with deaf students, who participated in language adaptation, video production, educational design, and content validation. La Hora reported the platform on August 11, 2026.

What SeñaPUCE includes

The platform brings together four digital applications. The report describes tools for learning Ecuadorian sign language, practicing mathematics through games, and recognizing signs with artificial intelligence.

The project began in January 2026 inside PUCE’s Systems Engineering program through a service-learning methodology. Students from the Faculty of Education who are deaf worked alongside the engineering students.

Francisco Rodríguez, the systems-engineering professor and SeñaPUCE director, emphasized that the project was developed with deaf people rather than only for them. That distinction shaped the testing, language adaptation, and review of the tools.

During the first phase, engineering students devoted about 15 hours per week to development. Between May and June, the applications were tested at the Wesme Specialized Educational Unit with between 15 and 25 students, ranging from 5 to 17 years old, as well as their teachers.

Why the local context matters

PUCE reported that more than 66,000 people in Ecuador have hearing disabilities, based on national registration data. The article says hearing disability is the third most frequent registered disability after physical and intellectual disabilities.

The country also has a limited number of officially endorsed interpreters. Historical records from Conadis and Secap put the number of accredited interpreters between 56 and 72, while PUCE reports about 60 qualified interpreters nationwide.

That gap helps explain why a free learning platform can be useful beyond a university project. A foreign resident, school, clinic, service provider, or employer may encounter Ecuadorian Sign Language in daily life and may benefit from a basic tool for learning and practice.

What This Means for Expats

SeñaPUCE is a resource to explore, not a substitute for a professional interpreter in a medical, legal, or other high-stakes setting. The article describes the platform as free, but it does not provide a service-level guarantee or say that every sign-recognition result is accurate.

The practical takeaway is that accessibility resources are being built locally and with direct participation from deaf students. Expats who work with the public, manage schools or businesses, or want to communicate more inclusively can use the platform as an entry point while continuing to ask institutions what professional interpretation support is available.

Source: La Hora

For a newcomer, learning a few signs can be a practical way to make everyday interactions more welcoming, especially when a conversation does not move smoothly through spoken Spanish. The platform’s collaborative design is also a useful reminder that accessibility tools work best when the people who use them help shape the language, examples, and testing process.