Advancements for ASL

ASL (American Sign Language) has recently seen a possible advancement for communication. A team at Georgia Institute of Technology has utilized acoustic chirps to recognize hand movements. "Chirp systems emit a 'swept'-frequency signal, meaning that the transmitted signal is emitted over a period of time and over a set range of frequencies" (woodshole). The image below gives a visual interpretation of this system.

The team at Georgia tech call this system FingerPing, which is composed of a thumb & wrist piece. In the ring (thumb piece), there is a speaker and the Receiver 1. In the wrist, there are the other three receivers. This system differs from other attempts at advancing ASL by using a small system for the user to wear instead of "cameras...that can be obtrusive and is unlikely to be carried everywhere" (Mitchell).  The image below shows multiple diagrams of the intricacies of the system.

Mitchell later in the article goes on to explain the way the system works, which is when "the ring produces acoustic chirps that travel through the hand and are picked up by receivers on the watch. There are specific patterns in which sound waves travel through structure including the hand, that can be altered by the manner in which the hand is posed. Utilizing those poses, the wearer can achieve up to 22 pre-programmed commands" (Mitchell).

A similar concept was explored in 2017 by students from University of Antwerp in Belgium. They focused on the issues with limited interpreters for the deaf and chose to try solving the problem with a "3D-printed robotic arm that can perform sign language" (Owano). 3D-printing has already been used for specific car parts and even bones for a patient needing a transplant. With the success and curiosity of 3D-printing, the students chose to use it as a method of treating the problem with communication.

As shown above, the model created by the students was "designed and built over three years, the arm can form the gestures that make up the letters and numbers of basic sign language." (Westlake). "When the user types text into the software, the robotic hand translates the text into sign language" (3ders.org).

Both articles from 2017 & 2018 deal with the issues of interpretation in ASL. Even though they are attempting to solve the same problem, they go about the process in different ways. It is interesting that in the span of one year there were two articles from across the world, and possibly more, that dealt with such a specific topic. The articles not only show resolutions to the issue, but reveal how there's more than one way to attempt to solve a problem.

Trial and error is essential in engineering because everything can be adjusted, and even though a product may seem "perfect," there are more ways to alter the design. It is important as engineers to always be questioning the problems in the world that need to be fixed and brainstorming methods to solve them. With such a serious topic as interpretation in ASL, it is important to have teams of engineers actively using advancements in technology to find a resolution. The teams in Georgia and Belgium prove that while a product is good, there are ways to improve upon the design and those improvements need to be considered for a positive progression of society

Sources:
David Mitchell
woodshole
Nancy Owano
Adam Westlake from SlashGear
3ders.org