The prototype detects hand and finger movements and turns them into words on a screen

Some 500,000 Americans use American Sign Language (ASL). For deaf users of ASL, communication with those not fluent in the language can be a challenge. Though most deaf-born Americans learn spoken language through speech therapy, some still have a hard time making themselves understood verbally, or simply find sign language a more fluid form of expressing themselves.

Now, researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a wearable device that “translates” sign language into English by sensing the user’s movements. The device, still in the prototype stage, can recognize some 40 ASL signs with 96 percent accuracy.

The system uses two sensors. One is a motion sensor with an accelerometer and a gyroscope, which measures the user’s hand and arm speed and angle. By sensing where a user’s hands and arms are, it can begin to guess what word they might be signing. Then there’s an electromyographic sensor, which measures the electrical potential of muscle movement. It can tell exactly what part of the hands and fingers are moving, which is critical. More.

See: The Smithsonian

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