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Researchers in South Korea have developed a wearable system that uses seven smart rings to read finger and hand movements to translate American Sign Language and International Sign Language into text. The purpose is to facilitate communication between signers and non-signers without the need for a separate human translator.
According to the studypublished Friday in the journal Science Advances, the system reliably recognized 100 ASL and ISL words during testing. It also performed well with users who had never seen the system before, and did not require recalibration for each person. Because the system detects words sequentially, it can produce sentence-level translations without additional grammar training.
ASL and ISL are the two everyday languages More than 72 million Deaf and hard of hearing people. However, most hearing people do not know any words in these languages or have a very basic understanding. This gap makes certain tasks, such as ordering at a restaurant or asking for help, more difficult.
A concept of how loops work in the real world.
Current prototypes of sign language interpreters often rely on bulky gloves that can be distracting to the wearer, hinder natural hand movement, or feel uncomfortable for the wearer, limiting true word adaptation. Camera-based techniques can work well in controlled environments, but are often limited to those places where a camera can be set up with a clear line of sight, the researchers wrote.
To solve these problems, the researchers designed sensor rings for each finger that can capture the precise movement and position of the finger while allowing the hands to move naturally. The rings can detect signs that involve movement, such as words that mean “dance,” “fly,” and “sun,” and signs that remain stationary, such as “I” and “you.”
“These developments suggest that[the device could enable]barrier-free public translation systems for unseen users and unconstrained everyday help interfaces,” the authors wrote in the study.
The authors are affiliated with Yonsei University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, among others. While the technology is still experimental, the authors write that the technology has the potential to alleviate communication difficulties. The basic idea can also help improve controls for other systems, e.g Virtual or augmented reality.
“Besides sign language translation, the ring-type, wireless, and modular architecture (ring-type wirelessly connected sign language interpreters) can also be extended to other gesture-based applications such as virtual or augmented reality control, non-touch device interfaces, or rehabilitation monitoring systems where precise hand movement tracking is essential,” they wrote.