A 'smart glove' that translates sign language from hand gestures to visual text on a screen and audible dialogue has been developed by a Goldsmiths, University of London student. She's now working on an app to enable real-time translation of the text into other languages.
Her first experimental prototype translated sign language gestures into visual letters on a screen. The glove's circuit comprised of flex sensors, an accelerometer, a microcontroller board, and a four digit graphic numerical display.
Five flex sensors were attached to the glove corresponding to the five fingers, detecting bends and curvatures then reporting the values to a serial monitor. An accelerometer was attached to detect the orientation of the hand.
Hadeel also developed a computer programme that identifies the output values of the sensors and accelerometer and matches them with a series of statements which determine what letters to display on a screen.
Her second prototype was better, faster and more durable, with smaller hardware and more efficient software. She incorporated a smaller microcontroller and smaller flex sensors and redesigned the software to allow text to scroll on a screen, deleting the old and adding the new.
The third and latest prototype – which now incorporates a text-to-speech chip - went on display at the Goldsmiths MA/MFA Computational Arts end-of-degree show earlier this month. Much of the glove's hardware is now sewn into a lining:
"I didn't want all the wires to intimidate users, making them feel the glove will be complicated to use or really fragile," Hadeel explains. "People tend to lean to the cautious side when approached with new high-tech products which contradicts the main purpose of this glove, which is to help make lives easier."
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Another slow news day; yet another sign language glove. But this time it is different!
Specifically, the DailyFail covers a New Scientist report about US$100 gloves which translate ASL [American Sign Language].
It is perhaps not as medically useful as a rectal haptic logging device or stroke recovery glove, perhaps not as visionary and audacious as the 1989 Nintendo Power Glove, but perhaps some of the numerous sign language gloves can be used as ambidexterous VR gloves? Likewise, when the crypto-currency market crashes again there'll be a huge surplus of GPUs for VR.
Full disclosure: I'm easily amused; especially with purile jokes about cyber logging and stroking aids. However, in the last two months, I filed a haptics patent (which started as a purile joke). Also, I'm working on a US$300 immersive sound system and I'll have a large number of spare I/O pins.
(Score: 2) by dyingtolive on Sunday October 04 2015, @08:09AM
I think it was hackaday or make that posted it. It looks really cool and I hope will pave the way for more wearables. More importantly, I'm hoping this inspires research into smaller form factor power supplies. I have a lot of ideas personally and I've seen even better ones than I could have ever come up with that I think could be improved upon that much more if we could only work out some way to more efficiently store and distribute energy.
Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!
(Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Sunday October 04 2015, @08:59AM
I saw this same basic setup over 17 years ago. I think it was on "Beyond 2000" or something like it.
The wiring of the glove sensors looks almost identical, right down to the use of flex resistors to determine the fingers positions. The one I saw also had the same sign-to-speech ability but the developers had gone a step further and also made a text-to-sign unit. Type something in to the terminal and it would control a a servo actuated glove that made ASL. The person they had made it for was both blind and deaf, she could "read" ASL by putting her hands around the hand doing the signing, The tech let her have two way communicate with none ASL capable people for the first time in her life. I remember she was very happy about it. Kind of sad it has taken this long to get interest into mass producing it, but better late than never.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Sunday October 04 2015, @09:31AM
Stick both your pinkies straight out.
Insert the pinky of one hand into the hole in the other hand that's formed by its thumb and curled index finger.
VIGOROUSLY thrust the pinky and and out, repeatedly.
How does this translate?
I Swear I'm Not Making This Up; this is commonly-used sign.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 05 2015, @02:03AM
OK, now I'm curious. WTF does it mean?
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday October 05 2015, @09:17PM
I'll send you my bill in the mail. ;-)
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 3, Informative) by Yog-Yogguth on Wednesday October 07 2015, @10:54AM
Or as the Italians would say: retro :D
(Hilarious that retro means that in Italian but it makes perfect sense language-wise & hat-tip to Gino).
Bite harder Ouroboros, bite! tails.boum.org/ linux USB CD secure desktop IRC *crypt tor (not endorsements (XKeyScore))