SignDAO

🖐️ SignDAO — Gesture-Driven DAO Inclusion

AI-powered oracle enabling sign language voting in DAOs — secured with Zero-Knowledge proofs for privacy and fairness.

🧠 What This Project Is

SignDAO is a gesture-driven governance system that makes DAO participation accessible to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. Instead of typing or clicking, users can vote through sign language gestures, which are recognized by an AI model and converted into on-chain votes, protected by Zero-Knowledge proofs to ensure privacy, authenticity, and fairness.

In short: AI recognizes your gesture → ZK proof hides your identity → MetaMask finalizes your on-chain vote.

💡 The Problem

DAO governance is still text-based and inaccessible. Over 70 million+ deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals who use sign language are excluded from direct participation in decentralized decision-making because DAO interfaces rely on written or spoken communication.

🚀 Our Solution

SignDAO bridges AI gesture recognition and ZK-Secure voting to enable inclusive Web3 governance.

Users connect their MetaMask wallet (Sepolia Testnet).

A local Semaphore identity is generated for privacy.

The user performs a gesture (YES / NO / ABSTAIN).

The gesture is recognized via MediaPipe + FastAPI AI bridge.

The app generates a Groth16 ZK proof verifying:

The user belongs to a valid Semaphore group.

The vote is unique (no double voting).

The DaoActionsZK.sol contract records the verified vote on-chain.

Every transaction is verifiable on Etherscan, but fully anonymous — no one knows who voted what.

⚙️ Tech Stack Layer Tools / Frameworks 🤖 AI / Gesture Recognition Python · MediaPipe · FastAPI ⛓️ Blockchain / ZK Solidity · Semaphore · Hardhat · Sepolia Testnet 💻 Frontend Next.js · Ethers v6 · Tailwind · MetaMask signer 🔐 ZK Proofs Groth16 · Semaphore circuits 🧱 Infra Routescan + Sourcify verified contracts 🔍 Key Verified Contracts (Sepolia Testnet) Contract Address Description Verification DaoActionsZK.sol 0x7b8363901E588F44cD2904D61Ef5Ab83F59873f2 ZK-secured DAO voting ✅ Sourcify + Routescan SemaphoreVerifier.sol 0x185112CB3C2140858ff77C5B33F11Be8343ae3fc Groth16 proof verifier ✅ Verified DaoActions.sol 0x1Fdf28577154106956cfE5086a7d7B17b6Da4C1b Base DAO logic ✅ Verified GestureNFT.sol 0x8Ec061e0aF8A430eF1056ed377eDeAfB1cFE21cF Gesture reputation NFTs ✅ Verified 🌍 Impact

SignDAO makes Web3 governance inclusive for 1 billion+ underserved people with communication disabilities. Every DAO can integrate gesture-based voting as a module — making the blockchain truly democratic and accessible.

“Your voice on-chain — even if it’s silent.” 🦟

🧩 How It Works (Simplified)

Gesture Capture — AI (MediaPipe) detects the user’s sign.

Identity Commitment — Semaphore generates a private commitment.

Proof Generation — Groth16 circuit ensures the user is real and unique.

Verification — On-chain smart contracts verify the proof.

Vote Recorded — The DAO updates its proposal state transparently.

All actions use MetaMask signer — no backend wallets, ensuring full user control and decentralization.

✅ Current Features

✅ Connect / Disconnect Wallet

✅ Create & Join DAO Groups on-chain

✅ ZK Gesture Voting (Groth16)

✅ Verified Contracts (Routescan + Sourcify)

✅ Inclusive AI Gesture UX

✅ Real-time vote verification on Sepolia

🕹️ Demo Flow

Click Connect Wallet (MetaMask)

Click Create Group → Approve tx → Etherscan link shown

Click Join Group → Approve tx → Member appears

Perform a gesture → Proof verified → Vote recorded

Confirm on Sepolia Explorer

🧠 Why It Matters

SignDAO proves that AI + ZK + Web3 can build a world where every voice counts, even when silent. It redefines governance accessibility and strengthens the ethical foundation of decentralized systems.

✨ Future Vision

Multi-chain DAO support (Polygon, Optimism)

Multi-language sign recognition (ASL, ISL, BSL, etc.)

Gesture reputation via NFTs

On-chain grants for accessible Web3 tooling

⚙️ How It’s Made

We built SignDAO as a bridge between AI gesture recognition and ZK-secured blockchain governance, combining Python AI inference, Semaphore ZK circuits, and Next.js + MetaMask for an end-to-end decentralized experience.

🧩 Architecture Overview

Frontend (Next.js + Tailwind + Ethers v6)

Built a React-based dApp where users connect their MetaMask wallet (Sepolia).

Integrated Ethers v6 for on-chain reads/writes.

Local identity generation via Semaphore identity commitments using browser-side hashing — no backend keys.

Added dynamic UI for group creation, joining, and ZK vote submission, with automatic Etherscan verification links.

AI Gesture Recognition (Python + MediaPipe + FastAPI)

Created a gesture bridge API that runs locally on port 5000.

Used MediaPipe Holistic to track hand landmarks and classify them into gestures (YES / NO / ABSTAIN).

Converted these gesture signals into encoded strings sent to the frontend via HTTP bridge.

This bridge enables the AI to work offline without storing any user data — preserving privacy.

ZK Proof Generation (Groth16 + Semaphore Circuits)

Integrated Semaphore circuits for anonymous group voting.

Each gesture triggers a Groth16 proof generated client-side via snarkjs.

The proof verifies that:

The user is a valid group member.

The same user cannot double-vote (nullifier hash).

Proof and signal are bundled and sent to the DaoActionsZK.sol contract.

Smart Contracts (Solidity + Hardhat + Sepolia)

Deployed and verified all contracts on Sepolia (Chain 11155111).

DaoActionsZK.sol: Handles group joins and ZK vote validation.

SemaphoreVerifier.sol: Verifies Groth16 proofs on-chain.

GestureNFT.sol: Mints reputation NFTs for active gesture voters.

Used Routescan + Sourcify for full verification and transparency.

All transactions are executed through the MetaMask signer, ensuring no centralized wallet or backend.

Infra / DevOps

Deployed contracts using Hardhat scripts.

Configured NEXT_PUBLIC_SEPOLIA_RPC for read operations.

Frontend automatically detects the connected network and disables writes if not on Sepolia.

GitHub Actions used for local build checks and linting.

🧠 Hacky / Innovative Parts

ZK-proof pipeline in browser: integrated snarkjs inside the Next.js app, allowing proof generation directly in the client — no backend relay server.

Gesture-to-ZK bridge: converted real-time AI gesture recognition into on-chain votes using encoded signal strings.

MetaMask-only flow: removed all private key dependencies and RPC servers — every single on-chain write comes from the user’s MetaMask, ensuring decentralization.

Full contract verification: all Solidity contracts are Routescan + Sourcify verified, showing transparent auditability for judges.

Accessible UX: minimal UI built with Tailwind, optimized for one-click demo flow (Connect → Create Group → Join → Vote).

🧠Benefits

Semaphore (by PSE) — provided the foundational circuits for anonymous identity and voting.

MediaPipe (by Google) — simplified sign gesture recognition without external datasets.

MetaMask — handled on-chain writes directly from user wallets.

Routescan + Sourcify — ensured all contracts are publicly verified for trust and reproducibility.

🏁 End Result

A fully working dApp where a user can: ✅ Connect wallet ✅ Create or join a Semaphore group ✅ Perform a sign gesture ✅ Generate a local ZK proof ✅ Submit vote on Sepolia — all with no backend, no data leaks, and 100% verifiable inclusivity.