Disclosed are methods, apparatus and systems for improving data management and workload distribution in pattern recognition systems. An example method of managing data for a sign language translation system includes receiving multiple sets of data acquired by one or more data acquisition devices. Each set of data including an image frame that illustrates at least a part of a gesture. The method includes determining, for each of the multiple sets of data, a plurality of attribute values defined by a customized template. The method includes accessing the multiple sets of data, by a plurality of processing units, based on a location indicated by the attributes for recognizing the at least a part of a gesture.