Hard on the back of a sign language translator app that we reported on back in March, an article on Tech Crunch has reported on a project called EnableTalk which translates sign language into text and speech, and has just won Microsoft’s Imagine Cup in Sydney.
The team of Ukrainian students have developed a set of gloves fitted with “flex sensors, touch sensors, gyroscopes and accelerometers” in order to translate sign language into text and then into spoken words using a computer. The hardware is said to cost around $75 and was inspired by deaf students who studied at the group’s school. The system can be modified by its users and can also be connected to Bluetooth.
On their website, the students said: “The goal of our project is to create a mobile device that can continuously recognize sign language phonemes.”
Read the full article here: http://m.techcrunch.com/2012/07/09/enable-talk-imagine-cup/
Enjoying our eggs? Support The Limping Chicken:
The Limping Chicken is the world's most popular Deaf blog, and is edited by Deaf journalist, screenwriter and director Charlie Swinbourne.
Our posts represent the opinions of blog authors, they do not represent the site's views or those of the site's editor. Posting a blog does not imply agreement with a blog's content. Read our disclaimer here and read our privacy policy here.
Find out how to write for us by clicking here, and how to follow us by clicking here.
The site exists thanks to our supporters. Check them out below:
- BSL Zone: TV programmes in BSL for the Deaf community
- Deaf Umbrella: what support is available for deaf students?
- Bellman & Symfon: home alerting solutions, including the mobile phone transceiver!
- SignVideo: Instant BSL video interpreting online
- SignHealth: check out the BSL health library
- 999 BSL: call 999 in an emergency, in BSL
- Appa: Looking for RSLIs, TSLIs and CSWs, apply here!
- Signly: Adding BSL to websites
- Signworld: Learn BSL online!
- DCAL: world-class research into deafness, cognition and language
- Action Deafness: “A Deaf-Led Charity” – interpreting & community support services
- Sign Solutions: Instant access to Interpreters, training and BSL translation nationwide
- InterpretersLive: On demand BSL video interpretation
- Lipspeaker UK: specialist lipspeaking support
- BID: Deaf services, including advice and support, interpreting, employment and letters
- Performance Interpreting: BSL interpreting at concerts
- National Deaf Children's Society: The leading charity for deaf children
Robert Mandara
July 11, 2012
The idea has been around for a long time but is very complicated – don’t expect these gloves to be in shops for $75 (or $150 for a pair) any time soon. Sign language usually relies on the relative positions of both hands but this glove doesn’t seem to have appropriate sensors yet. Interesting to see that people are working on the idea anyway.
Jonathan Downie
July 11, 2012
And the linguist in me would want to point out that recognising words is not recognising language. This is something tech geeks often forget.
Adrean Clark
July 11, 2012
While I can see a benefit to this technology, pen and paper is still the cheapest and most efficient tech. Si5s is a good support and can be adapted to any nation’s sign language. Once the font is coded, it’ll be a fantastic sign-to-speech translator! 🙂 http://www.si5s.org and http://www.aslwrite.com