Keniel Peart MINDS CDT, 2021

Doctoral Researcher, University of Southampton

Keniel Peart is a doctoral researcher working on AI systems that can understand human movement, with a particular focus on sign language recognition from both video and radar signals. Current systems often struggle with accuracy and realism in everyday settings, especially when it comes to the fine hand motions that carry so much meaning in signing.

His research is developing methods that can recover detailed 3D body and hand motion over time, and that can also simulate how sign language movements would appear to radar. This brings together machine learning, computer vision, 3D human modelling, radar simulation and multimodal sensing, different ways of combining and interpreting signals about the same movement.

In practical terms, the work could support more natural assistive communication tools for sign language users, and radar-based sensing systems that do not rely solely on cameras. That matters where privacy is important, or where cameras are not well suited to the environment.

After his PhD, Keniel is hoping to work in industry on computer vision and robotics. He is due to graduate in 2027.