Wearable Technology: Smart Glove

Giving a voice to the speech and hearing impaired

 

Wearable technology  is something that is becoming big in our society.  Right now the apple watch is the face of this movement.  But the apple watch may have to start making room for a new product.  Did you know that in America there is an estimated 38,225,590 people with a hearing disability?  This estimated number was taken in 2012.  A hearing disability can cause other problems as well.  Problems such as a speech impediment.  With hearing loss and a speech impediment  communicating can be difficult.  That is why sign language was created to make communicating easier.  With today's technology we are trying to take it a step further.

 

	"Have hearing problems" (includes both deaf and hard of hearing)
Total U.S. population: 294,043,000	38,225,590	13%
>6 years old	691,883	1.81%
Ages 18-34: 67,414,000	2,309,000	3.4%
Ages 35-44: 38,019,000	2,380,000	6.3%
Ages 45-54: 25,668,000	2,634,000	10.3%
Ages 55-64: 21,217,000	3,275,000	15.4%
Ages 65 and over: 30,043,000	8,729,000	29.1%

 

  At Goldsmiths, University of London there is a student by the name of Hadeel Ayoub.  She has been developing what is called the Smart Glove (SingLanguageGlove).  What the Smart Glove does is turn sign language into text and spoken dialogue.  Ayoub is now on her third iteration of the Smart Glove.  The new features of the Smart Glove has been equipped with five flex sensors to monitor the bends and curves of the fingers.  Ayoub then followed up with a new model that was faster and smaller, and with text that scrolled on the screen.  She is now working on adding a language translation, and making smaller gloves for children.  Lastly she wants to have Wi-Fi in the glove so that its motions can be relayed wirelessly through smart phones or tablets, so then the app will take care of the translations.  This new device will open the lines of communication for the people with hearing disabilities.  The best part about the Smart Glove is that if you don't know sign language you will still be able to communicate with this person. 

 

            Technology today is constantly changing and evolving to better suit us in everyday life.  I think that the Smart Glove will change many lives for the better.  Like I mentioned earlier the lines of communication will be opened to everyone with this product.  This product to me shows how we can push past and break down barriers in any situation that we face.  But with this new product which is Smart Glove leaves a question.  How do we share this product at a affordable price, so that many people in need can use it?