Cool Concept: Sign Language Translator

Funamizu's concept is intended to be worn around the neck

For persons with normal hearing to understand the hearing impaired and vice versa, sign language is the medium of communication. According to statistics, over 2 million people worldwide use the American Sign Language (ASL) to convey thoughts and words with each other. That leaves about 6 billion or so on the planet who are unable to understand ASL. 

Thanks to imaginative designer Mac Funamizu, sign language may soon be universally used, via the Sign Language Translator. This cool concept device aims to interpret hand gestures and convert them to audio – as if the signer is speaking directly to the listener.

How does it work? The Sign Language Translator is worn around the neck of the listener, and it has a small camera sensor that captures the hand gestures of the person directly in front. As the signs are interpreted by the device, a voice from the mini-speaker translates them. According to the conceptualizer, there is a wide range of voices to choose from. One can even pick a familiar voice like a Hollywood celebrity to do the interpreting for them!

Simple yet brilliant, this future Sign Language Translator will be about the size of a pinkie finger. To switch the device on, one just has to pull out the bottom to reveal the speaker. The volume can be adjusted by sliding the bottom up or down, much like a small trombone. The Sign Language Translator switches off when the bottom is clicked back in place.

Mac Funamizu is known for coming up with smart futuristic designs – ranging from mobile phones of tomorrow, to artistically modern digital music players. If this concept device is actualized, it is projected to effectively bridge communications among people on a global scale. In a modern age where new devices are created by the minute, it won’t a long shot to say that soon the understanding of language will be easier and hassle-free.

Source: Behance Network