SBIR Phase I: AcceleGlove: A Cost Effective Device For Translating American Sign Language Into Text and Speech

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段研究项目将展示开发一种生物电子便携式设备的可行性，该设备可以将美国手语(ASL)(一种没有书面表达的手势语言)翻译成英语口语和书面语。这种设备的开发意味着机械和电子学的设计和改进，以及编写几个计算机应用程序，以与现有的训练和练习ASL的计算机程序相结合。为该项目提出的开发努力将极大地推动该设备走向商业化。这项研究的工具部分旨在获得一个完全便携的手势捕捉系统，有两个版本：有线和。这项拟议的研究有三个目标：(1)确定双臂翻译的可行性，(2)确定与美国手语教学软件的接口能力，以及(3)确定电子产品是否足够坚固，以供消费者使用。要实现这些目标，需要(A)修改以前为处理手指拼写(一只手)而开发的硬件和软件，以供消费者处理ASL翻译(双手)，以及(B)开发一系列通信协议和约定，以整合目前独立的ASL教学和翻译软件。美国手语(ASL)是美国和加拿大许多聋人和言语障碍者的母语，是亲属和其他为他们提供服务的人的第二语言，使ASL成为美国第四大最广泛使用的语言。作为一种基于视觉原理的手势语言，它现在已经具有了代表性。尽管这种语言的使用是多么普遍，但市场上没有一种自动设备可以将ASL翻译成口语或书面语(或任何其他基于声音的语言)，就像有电子词典将英语翻译成其他口语一样。这种生物电子仪器的开发将使母语为美国手语的用户能够与英语用户进行即时交流，以达到日常目的。预计它将对成倍增加残疾聋人和其他残疾(如自闭症、智力障碍、失语症)的人具有特殊的价值，这些人的英语学习对他们来说是一种挑战。这种仪器还应用于康复、游戏和机器人技术。拟议的仪器克服了以前的发明带来的限制，即通过使用安装在手指和手掌背面的数字加速度计来识别手掌方向，手掌方向是识别不同手势的关键组件。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project will demonstrate the feasibility of developing a bio-electronic portable device that translates American Sign Language (ASL), a gestural language that has no written representation, to spoken and written English. The development of such a device implies design and refinement of mechanics and electronics, as well as writing several computer applications to integrate with extant computer programs that train and practice ASL. Development efforts proposed for this project will substantially propel this device toward commercialization. The instrumental part of the research aims to obtain a fully portable gesture capturing system in two versions: wired and. The proposed research has three goals: (1) To determine feasibility for two-arm translation, (2) To determine capability to interface with ASL instructional software, and (3) To determine if the electronics can be made robust enough for consumer use. Achievement of these goals will require (a) modification of hardware and software previously developed to handle finger spelling (one hand) to handle ASL translation (two-handed) by consumers, and (b) development of a series of communication protocols and conventions to integrate the ASLinstructional and translation software, which are currently standalone applications.American Sign Language (ASL) is the native language of many deaf and speech impaired people in the United States and Canada and the second language for relatives and others who provide services to them, making ASL the fourth most widely used language in the U.S. As a gestural language, based on visual principles, it has nowritten representation. Despite how pervasively this language is used, there is no automatic device on the market that can translate ASL to spoken or written English (or any other sound-based language) in the same way that there are electronic dictionaries to translate English to other spoken languages. Development of this bio-electronic instrumentation will enable native ASL users to communicate instantaneously with English users for commonplace purposes. It is anticipated that it will have special value to multiply disabled deaf and other disabled (e.g., autistic, mentally retarded, aphasic) individuals for whom acquisition of English is a challenge. This instrumentation also has applications for rehabilitation, gaming, and robotics. The proposed instrumentation overcomes limitations posed by previous inventions that could not interpret palm orientation, an essential component for recognizing distinct signs, by using digital accelerometers mounted on fingers and the back of the palm.