From
TechCrunch:
There are plenty of things to take for granted in this life, and the ability to hear is one that most of the population does.
But not the team at MotionSavvy. MotionSavvy, which emerged from the Leap Motion accelerator AXLR8R, is building a tablet case that leverages the power of the Leap Motion controller in order to translate American Sign Language into English and vice versa. The entire 6-person team is deaf.
The MotionSavvy case embeds the Leap, and the MotionSavvy software
leverages the Leap’s 3D motion recognition, which detects when a person
is using ASL and converts it to text or voice. The software also has
voice recognition through the tablet’s mic, which allows a hearing
person to respond with voice to the person signing. It then converts
their voice into text, which the hearing-impaired receiver can
understand.
Founders Ryan Hait-Campbell, Wade Kellard, Jordan Stemper and Alex
Opalka met at the Rochester Institute Of Technology, which includes a
deaf-education branch, and built the prototype over a year ago.
The
original MotionSavvy won third place in the ZVRS competition, which is
what convinced Hait-Campbell that the product could eventually have
consumer legs.
Right now the prototype only understands about 100 words, but Ryan
and Alex hope to eventually crowdsource the “massive” number of signs
necessary to make this an effective tool. There are many thousands of
signs in ASL alone, and various different “accents” or ways it is
spoken.
Over 800 deaf people have signed up for the beta test, and
Hait-Campbell hopes that a consumer-facing product will eventually hit
the market in September 2015.
He is playing around with a $600 price tag for the case itself, which
includes a Windows tablet and a $20 per-month subscription for the
software. MotionSavvy eventually wants to build apps on Android, iOS and
Windows Phone, and have the hardware work with any mobile phone.
“This will allow a deaf individual to feel as if the product is an extension of her/himself,” Hait-Campbell says.
Hait-Campbell views this pricing as competitive with that of an
average interpreter, at around $60-$100 an hour, but doesn’t think
MotionSavvy will put interpreters out of a job. In fact,
Hait-Campbell argues that MotionSavvy will create more jobs for ASL
translators, as many more deaf people will apply for higher-level jobs
because of the increased ability to communicate with colleagues who
don’t know ASL.
This is especially poignant for international users. The Americans with Disabilities Act
mandates a certain level of accessibility for U.S. workplaces and
public utilities. Many countries do not have such an act, and thus deaf
citizens do not get the services they need.
“This
will give deaf people the power over their lives, the power to lead the
lifestyle they want to have,” Hait-Campbell explains. “That is all
accomplished by being able to communicate. Being deaf is very similar to
moving to a foreign country but never being able to learn the language
of that country (and doing that for your whole life).”
MotionSavvy is in the process of raising a $1.5 million seed round, with SOS Ventures (through the LEAP.AXLR8R) being its only current investor. Despite immense demand, it is still taking beta sign-ups here.
