Last week I came across an article on Facebook that I was about 90% sure was fake news. I decided to do a little more research on the topic and to my surprise, and immediate delight, I found that the article was true. What may sound like a fictional gadget in a futuristic movie has made its way into existence, thanks to the brilliant mind of Roy Allela. Before I get into the details of this amazing invention, here’s a little background on the creator.
Allela is a 25-year-old Kenyan microprocessor engineer who works at Intel. His tutoring profile on the University of Oxford website states, “He has a strong passion for the application of nascent technologies to solving everyday problems.” Roy Allela has done just that, as he created technology that allows individuals who use sign language to communicate with those who do not. Currently, there are more than 30 million people who have speech impairments and utilize sign language. With Sign-IO, those individuals can use smart gloves to sign and have their sign language translated to audio speech. This invention is absolutely amazing and truly bridges the language barrier of sign language.
So, what sparked such an amazing idea? Allela credits his inspiration for this invention to his need to communicate with his 6-year-old niece who was born deaf. His niece found it difficult to communicate with her family as many of her family members did not know sign language. With this, Allela found the motivation to create Sign-IO. The gloves recognize the various signed letters and transmit this data to an Android application, where it is then verbally spoken. “My niece wears the gloves, pairs them with her phone or mine, then starts signing. I’m able to understand what she’s saying,” Allela shared in The Guardian newspaper. The technological advancement that these gloves offer with simply being able to translate is quite fascinating, but Allela did not stop there. “People speak at different speeds, and it’s the same with people who sign – some are really fast, others are slow. So, we integrated that into the mobile application so that it’s comfortable for anyone to use,” he continued. Users are able to customize the audio output of their signing by selecting the language, gender, and pitch. The accuracy of Allela’s system has been measured at 93 percent on average.
What’s next for Sign-IO? Allela’s goal is to have two pairs of gloves in every special-needs school in Kenya and to eventually be able to help children worldwide. Allela shared, “I was trying to envision how my niece’s life would be if she had the same opportunities as everyone else in education, employment – all aspects of life.”
There’s a quote by Richie Norton that says “What’s the difference between people who see and seek gaps and those that see and seek bridges? The first stops and stays on the side. The second, crosses and reaches new worlds.” Mr. Allela, I would like to thank you for crossing the bridge and reaching new worlds. Your creation will improve and change so many lives. Thanks for seeing a need in this world and doing something about it. You are a true inspiration to children everywhere.
Mr. Allela, I would like to thank you for crossing the bridge and reaching new worlds. Your creation will improve and change so many lives. Thanks for seeing a need in this world and doing something about it. Share on X
