Students create gloves that translate American Sign Language into speech or text

Two US university students created a pair of gloves that are able to translate sign language into speech or text.

Thomas Pryor and Navid Azodi were undergraduate students at Washington University in 2016 when they created SignAloud.

The pair of specially designed gloves that can recognize hand gestures that correspond with phrases and words in American Sign Language (ASL).

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How do the gloves work?

Each of the gloves is fitted with sensors that record movements and hand positions and sends them, via Bluetooth, to a computer. 

These gestures are then processed to check if they match any in an ASL database and if a match is found, the word or phrase is then spoken through a speaker. How clever is that?

The invention was so smart that it was awarded the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize and its creators were handed $10,000 (£7,713).

Aeronautics and astronautics engineering student Pryor and Azodi, who studied business administration, met in their freshmen year and bonded over their passion for problem-solving and inventing.

Pryor said that while other sign language translation devices were available, they were usually large and clunky to use, with some requiring sensors attached to an entire arm or body.

The creators wanted to make something suitable for ‘everyday’ wear 

The students wanted to create something that was ‘practical for everyday use’, and so the ‘lightweight’ and ‘compact’ SignAloud gloves were born.

He likened the invention to contact lenses or hearing aids thanks to their ergonomic design and wearability.

“Our purpose for developing these gloves was to provide an easy-to-use bridge between native speakers of American Sign Language and the rest of the world,” Azodi said.

“The idea initially came out of our shared interest in invention and problem solving.

“But coupling it with our belief that communication is a fundamental human right, we set out to make it more accessible to a larger audience.”

Although the gloves were originally designed to help and assist the millions of Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing as well as those learning ASL – the pair noted that it could be useful in numerous other fields, including medical technology to monitor stroke patients during rehabilitation, and enhanced dexterity in virtual reality.