Researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a wearable device prototype that can translate American Sign Language into English in real-time. This technology provides a solution to communication problems between deaf and hearing people.

Real-time American Sign Language Recognition using Wrist-worn Motion and Surface EMG sensors.

Courtesy of the researchers.

The device combines motion and surface electromyographic (sEMG) sensors to interpret hand gestures. The motion sensor measures the accelerations and angular velocities of the hand and arm using an accelerometer and gyroscope while the sEMG sensor measures the electrical potential of muscle activities. In its prototype stage, the device can recognize 40 American Sign Language words with nearly 96 percent accuracy. This work was presented at the IEEE 12th Annual Body Sensor Networks Conference in June 2015. For more information, please visit the Embedded Signal Processing Lab (ESP) at Texas A&M University.