Inventor Creates Glove that Translate Sign Language into Audible Speech.

The Sign-IO gloves use a machine-learning algorithm to translate hand gestures into letters, numbers and words. The gloves have sensors attached to each finger that connect to an smartphone via Bluetooth. When worn by an individual who uses sign language, the phone uses text-to-speech to translate their hand gestures into audible speech.

Roy’s 6-year-old deaf niece inspired him to create the gloves. He witnessed first-hand the many challenges she faced when attempting to communicate with people who do not know sign language. He wanted to find a way to help her communicate with the outside world more easily so she would have the same educational and employment opportunities in life as everyone else.

“My niece wears the gloves, pairs them to her phone or mine, then starts signing – and I'm able to understand what she's saying. Like all sign-language users, she's very good at lip-reading, so she doesn't need me to sign back,” Roy explained.

The gloves come in a range of designs, including kid-friendly themes like Spider-Man and princess characters.

“It fights the stigma associated with being deaf and having a speech impediment. If the gloves look cool, every kid will want to know why you have them on,” Roy explained.

Incredibly, the Sign-IO gloves can translate signs into more than 40 languages in real time. Users can alter the pitch, speed and tone of the voice to match their own. The voice recognition technology allows users to see or read the other side of the conversation.

Roy’s design earned him the Hardware Trailblazer Award at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) global finals contest in 2018. After prototyping, he first introduced the gloves to special needs schools in Kenya to train and teach sign language. Roy, a software engineer, previously worked for Intel and taught at Oxford University as a data science teacher.

The Foundation for a Better Life and PassItOn believe that Roy Allela is a hero. His action is a great example of innovation. He used his talent and skills to create a device that would positively benefit the lives of others by helping them more easily communicate with their families, friends and the public. 

Watch video here: https://youtu.be/Z-nNwTDfbAI?si=AIx_CM0RuX7BDjpA

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