College Students Design Gloves That Translate Sign Language Into Speech

University Of Washington

Being granted $10,000 in prize money is no easy feat. Especially, when you’ve worked as hard as these college sophomores to earn the money.

University of Washington undergraduates, Navid Azodi and Thomas Pryor, teamed up to create a pair of gloves that translate sign language into speech or text, all in real time.

Their invention was rewarded through the  Lemelson-MIT Undergraduate Student Prize, granting them $10,000 for their outstanding efforts.

And if that’s not far more impressive than what you ever did in college, you were clearly a better student than I was.

The “SignAloud” glove prototype is a lightweight accessory that’s intended to “provide an easy-to-use bridge between native speakers of American Sign Language and the rest of the world,” according to an article published by the University of Washington.

SignAloud-gloves-375x281
University Of Washington

And with their Bluetooth system, they’re able to bridge the gap, just as they hoped to do. The gloves have sensors that are connected via Bluetooth to a computer that reads the gestures and translates them through a speaker.

“Our gloves are lightweight, compact and worn on the hands, but ergonomic enough to use as an everyday accessory, similar to hearing aids or contact lenses,” Pryor is quoted saying in the UW article.

With technology like this on their hands (literally) these gloves could easily become as commonplace as hearing aids and contact lenses, all thanks to a couple of college kids.

Check out what these gloves can do, and get ready for them to be the next big piece of technology for the hearing impaired community.

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[h/t: Mental Floss]

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About the Author
Augusta Statz
I have a B.F.A. in Writing from the Savannah College of Art and Design. I’m an avid writer with a genuine sense of curiosity. I feel the best way to absorb the world around you is through fashion, art and food, so that’s what I spend most of my time writing about.

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