Sign language is considered the sixth most used language in the United States. Yet many people who aren’t deaf don’t know how to understand it. To close the gap between the deaf and those who can’t communicate via sign language, a team of students have developed a unique translator.
Ranjay Krishna and colleagues from Cornell University made a prototype of the Sign Language Translator glove, a velcro mitt with sensors that can translate the American Sign Language (ASL) alphabet into spoken words.
The various sensors on the glove distinguish the letters used in sign language and sends that information to a base station, which pronounces and shows the letter being signed.
Researchers hope that the prototype could be made into a real product to be used as a learning tool to test people’s ability to sign.
Check out this video to see how the glove works:
Sign language translator turns gestures into spoken letters, makes for a better world [Endgadget]
