智能傳感器把美國手語翻譯成英文
Smart Device Translates American Sign Language To English
智能傳感器把美國手語翻譯成英文
American Sign Language (ASL), has been one of the primary means of communication for the deaf in the United States and many parts of Canada since the 1800s. It is estimated that between 500,000 to 2 million people use the language on a regular basis.
19世紀來，美國手語已成爲美國和加拿大大部分地區失聰之人交流的主要方式。 據估算，大約有50萬-200萬的人經常使用這種語言。
But popular as it is, there are millions of people with normal hearing that do not understand the language. And while most deaf Americans learn to speak with the help of speech therapy, many find it easier to communicate through sign language. Now a team of researchers at the Texas A&M University has created wearable technology that will make it easy for ASL and non-ASL users to converse.
美國手語雖然流行，但仍有上百萬正常人無法理解手語。雖然美國大多數失聰的人藉助語言障礙矯正能發聲，但他們還是覺得肢體語言交流更方便些。現在德克薩斯州的A&M大學研究出一種可以實現美國手語和非手語互譯的可穿戴設備。
The smart device is the brainchild of a team led by Biomedical Engineering Associate Professor Roozbeh Jafari. It uses two separate sensors to translate intricate ASL gestures into plain English. The first that is fitted with an accelerometer and gyroscope keeps track of the significant movements - the user's hand and arm as he/she tries to communicate.
這項發明是生物醫學工程助理教授Roozbeh Jafari帶隊研發的。它主要通過兩個獨立的傳感器把複雜的手語轉換成常見英文。第一個傳感器內置加速器和迴轉儀，用來追蹤用戶交流時手和手臂做的主要動作。
The second sensor helps distinguish the smaller movements that follow, the larger ones. The two sensors working in tandem help provide an accurate interpretation of the gesture.
第二個傳感器幫助辨認主要動作後的小型動作。兩個傳感器一前一後配合，提供相對準確的手勢翻譯。
However, there is still some work to be done before the technology can be used in the real world. For one, it currently recognizes just 40 primary ESL signs, which means that it has thousands more to learn. Also, the smart device only translates one word at a time making ordinary conversations painfully slow.
然而，正式普及大衆使用之前，這項發明還有待完善。首先，現在它只能辨認40種主要的英文手勢，還有上千的英文手勢需要加入；其次，它每次只能翻譯一個單詞，這嚴重拉低的日常交流的速度。
The Texas team is not the only one working on making conversation between ASL and non-ASL users easier. In China, researchers have created a motion sensing device that translates Chinese Sign Language into both spoken and written words. With so many brilliant minds focused on finding a solution, communication difficulties experienced by ASL users may soon be a thing of the past!
除了德克薩斯的團隊，還有其他致力於使手語和非手語之間交流簡單化的國家。中國的研究者就發明了一種可以把中式手語同時翻譯成有聲語言和文字的動作傳感器。現在有這麼多有才的發明家致力於解決這個問題，美國手語交流的人羣遇到的困難將很快成爲過去。
譯文屬原創，未經允許，不得轉載。
