Huang Shuang, one of the inventors, shows their research. (Photo/Xinhua)
Two university students in Beijing have invented a wearable sign language translator, which can translate Chinese sign language gestures into voice, and voice into text.
Wang Nana and Huang Shuang's creation makes its easier for deaf people to communicate with hearing people, and vice versa.
The wearable armband detects the muscle actions of the wearer, and simultaneously converts it into speech through a small speaker. It can also detect speech from others and convert it into text that appears on the armband.
In April, the invention won the first prize in an open design challenge by the United Nations Development Program and Chinese tech company Baidu.
The armband can translate 200 Chinese Sign Language gestures, but more are added each day. The device is currently not for sale, but developers hope that it will be on the market soon.
