HandTalk glove speaks your hand gestures... we can see where this is headed

Oooh, now we get it. HandTalk converts hand gestures like sign language into spoken words. Well, don't we feel silly. The device was developed by a group of nerds at Carnegie Mellon, and can track finger and hand gestures with a vocabulary of 32 words in its existing v0.1 model. The signals are transmitted from the glove to a phone over Bluetooth, where the words are converted with text to speech software. Not bad for a bunch of off-the-shelf components, but they could've scored double the nerd points by repurposing a Power Glove for this -- gotta think big picture, people.

[Via talk2myShirt]

[Podaman @ May 12th 2008 9:56AM]

I love the HandTalk glove. It's so bad.

[zfurie @ May 12th 2008 10:11AM]

It would be fun if we use it on Michael Jackson videos and see how it interpret his glitter gloves.

"Me Like Spank Monkey"

[AlekZander @ May 12th 2008 10:22AM]

Or if Hitler had one when he gave his speeches and it said "I'm having a wonderful day today. Isn't it a nice day?"

[R Nair @ May 12th 2008 9:57AM]

Could be useful for people with speech disabilities... Paul Miller needs a pound of common sense :)

[KRiS..! @ May 12th 2008 10:02AM]

people with speech disabilities cant text others?

[Wes @ May 12th 2008 10:04AM]

This is so 1995 and the movie Congo all over again.

[linuxamp @ May 12th 2008 10:20AM]

Amy... talk...

[Paul @ May 12th 2008 10:43AM]

haha nice, they'll probably have a press conference soon

[BMEdin @ May 12th 2008 10:58AM]

Ugly gorilla.
Go away.

[Double J @ May 12th 2008 10:06AM]

Great, now I'm gonna get the finger even on the phone.

[Richard Shipp @ May 12th 2008 10:13AM]

Maybe now I can get that french accent I always wanted

[OneLove @ May 12th 2008 10:16AM]

look hes saying, "I am a dork".

[Blu-Sam @ May 12th 2008 12:14PM]

that picture look like he said "Idiot"

I know sign language that well.

[mark burban @ May 12th 2008 10:17AM]

get it to vocalise sign language & i'm this will be really amazing..

[Low Ranked @ May 12th 2008 12:04PM]

Did you just type that with the HandTalk glove?

[Charles Han @ May 12th 2008 10:17AM]

I love the power glove

[Mam00th @ May 12th 2008 10:20AM]

32 words lol

[Jon Doe. @ May 12th 2008 10:20AM]

Get another glove and you can have a conversation with yourself. The perfect gift for that loved one with multiple personality disorder.

[Rob @ May 12th 2008 10:23AM]

This would be great as a translator for non-sign language speakers. That way we can carry out conversations without any language barriers.

[Joe P @ May 12th 2008 11:17AM]

Except if the person signing is deaf the conversation would be one way...

[contreras @ May 12th 2008 12:34PM]

@ Joe P

It's true. however most of deaf people can read your lips. This is something really important. Great job for the people who worked on this!

[Andy @ May 12th 2008 10:28AM]

"eat up martha...."

[Ben @ May 12th 2008 9:38PM]

Nice Apple Newton / Simpsons reference!

[Mischa G @ May 12th 2008 10:58AM]

I'm always a fan of giving a voice to the voiceless.
http://impatientsufferance.com/2008/05/12/a-voice-for-the-voiceless-248/

[deadpool @ May 12th 2008 11:05AM]

chocolate raiiin

[Stevo @ May 12th 2008 6:41PM]

Beat Me to it!

[Ralph @ May 12th 2008 11:11AM]

When I flip my middle finger at bad drivers, they might hear what I'm trying to tell them?

[chalkboy @ May 12th 2008 11:21AM]

This could be a very cool accessibility add-on for http://www.digitalchalk.com

[iGadgetgirl @ May 12th 2008 11:44AM]

Too bad this was pretty much already invented by a 17 year old back in 2001! The high school kid won the Intel Young Scientist Scholarship at the 2001 Intel International Science & Engineering Fair.

"The Sign Translator, Ryan Randall Patterson, 17, Central High School, Grand Junction, Colorado

Ryan Patterson was nicknamed the "glove boy" because of his demonstration of using his glove project to translate the hand motions of a deaf into alphanumeric characters on a PC screen. The glove had sensors built-in to sense the hand muscle/tendon movements and transmit wireless to a PC. Whenver he encountered an obstacle like learning assembly or C, he would buy a book and jump into it. "

From:
http://www.ewh.ieee.org/r6/scv/k-12/isef_2001_eval.html and
http://www.societyforscience.org/ISEF/results/grnd2001.asp

Looks like Ryan was missing out on the cell phone display and the text to speech part- but it's basically the same thing. Sign language into a glove turns into text for people that don't know sign language... I'm surprised it took 7 years to make the small leap to add the speech functionality....

[contreras @ May 12th 2008 12:36PM]

The added value is that you can install it in your phone! it's not re-inventing the wheel, but giving an existing application, a practical installation...

[DBrim @ May 12th 2008 12:21PM]

Forget the Power Glove. Try Hulk Hands instead.

[Kush Mangal @ May 12th 2008 12:49PM]

HandTalk looks awesome!
Great job Carnegie Mellon students, keep it up!

[Tejas @ May 12th 2008 12:58PM]

"Talk to the hand" jokes, anyone?!?!

[vdogg89 @ May 12th 2008 5:16PM]

no

[Slyd3z @ May 12th 2008 1:06PM]

A whole new meaning to "No glove, no love"?

[Alex @ May 12th 2008 3:57PM]

These comments were hilarious! Keep 'em coming guys! :P

[IndiaTech @ May 12th 2008 4:23PM]

In India, that sign, extended little finger, usually means: "I need to pee".

[Cray @ May 12th 2008 10:39PM]

As someone who knows sign language and is hearing impaired, any technology that aids the deaf community, which is roughly 1 out of 1000 people in the U.S. is a great thing.

Now if we can just get Netflex and all the major websites (MSN, Yahoo, YouTube) to adhere to the Disabilities Act in providing the technology for close captions/subtitles on their videos. The technology is there, its just matter of providing it.

[arvin @ May 13th 2008 10:47AM]

Wouldn't it be easier for the speech-impaired person to just carry a phone around and text other people? Or am I missing something here?

[Cray @ May 14th 2008 3:45AM]

Would you pay for a phone service you can't use except for translation?