Inventions

Talk To The Hands

Kenyan inventor Roy Allela has designed a pair of gloves that translate signed hand movements into speech. Called Sign-IO, it relies on sensors that are stitched into each finger which can detect the movement and positions of the hands, and interpret them into words being signed. The gloves connect via Bluetooth to a phone app, also designed by Allela, which convert the gestures into audible speech for others to understand.

Allela got the inspiration for his invention from watching his family’s struggle to communicate with his six-year-old niece, who was born deaf. “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,” says Allela. “Like all sign language users, she’s very good at lip reading so she doesn’t need me to sign back.”

But these gloves also double as a tool to teach non-signers by way of the visual and audible working together. Both the gloves and the app are adjustable to different users’ needs, from speed of movement of the hands, to different pitches and tones of voice in the electronic speech of the app.

Allella first launched his talking gloves in 2018, at a special-needs school in south-west Kenya, and he hopes to make them available to as many children as possible worldwide.

Sign-IO is just one of a growing number of assistive technology devices for people with impairments and limitations. The market, which is expected to top $30 billion dollars by 2024, is exploding as people find new ways to break down communication barriers and overcome obstacles via technology. And breaking down communication barriers of every kind, is a positive game changer for everyone.