GyGSLA: A Portable Glove System for Learning Sign Language Alphabet

The communication between people with normal hearing with those having hearing or speech impairment is difficult. Learning a new alphabet is not always easy, especially when it is a sign language alphabet, which requires both hand skills and practice. This paper presents the GyGSLA system, standing as a completely portable setup created to help inexperienced people in the process of learning a new sign language alphabet. To achieve it, a computer/mobile game-interface and an hardware device, a wearable glove, were developed. When interacting with the computer or mobile device, using the wearable glove, the user is asked to represent alphabet letters and digits, by replicating the hand and fingers positions shown in a screen. The glove then sends the hand and fingers positions to the computer/mobile device using a wireless interface, which interprets the letter or digit that is being done by the user, and gives it a corresponding score. The system was tested with three completely inexperience sign language subjects, achieving a 76% average recognition ratio for the Portuguese sign language alphabet.