Handheld Sign Language Guides
Posted in Technology on 27. Mar, 2009
This comes under one of those “why didn’t I think of that” ideas. The Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth has just got 12 handheld devices that show sign-language video about exhibits and artefacts.
The only improvement I could suggest would be introducing GPS and location-aware software so the device starts the sign language video dependent on where you are rather than punching in a corresponding number. Hell, you could make it an iPhone app. Apart form the fact that I can’t imagine many people with hearing difficulties owning an iPhone.
Maybe QR codes could trigger the video? Put a small camera on the back and take a picture of the codes? Or RFIDs and just be near a video trigger.
You could go even more over the top and use augmented reality, so you hold the handheld in front of you and the person signing walks around the museum with you, signing as she goes. Maybe giving actual tours, signing “take a left here” or “look over there” and signing when you hold her in front of something.
Trust me to take a very cool simple idea and turn into a massively expensive one.
Actually you could use the ipod touch and do this with YouTube or Vimeo or Viddler. Annotation too.
How about a sign language to text interface? It could use the familiar skills of the hearing impaired person to read the gestures (with fingertip markers like MIT’s Sixth Sense, or gloves with accelerometers) and output the text to a display on a T-shirt perhaps. This would allow easy communication with non-sign language proficient people.
They could just use a keyboard I suppose, but this would use their existing skills and potentially offer a totally hands free interface.
Do you mean as a way for a sign-language user to act as a “tour guide” for everyone?
Suppose it would be nice change than having a sign-language guide only used by the hearing-impaired.