Girl + Computer = ?

engineeringisawesome:

A Young Engineer Visits SparkFun

Sam’s project translates sign language into spoken English. It’s divided into two parts: An Arduino-powered glove uses flex sensors to measure finger positions, and an accelerometer to measure arm angle (Sam tells us that without this extra measurement, several letters could easily be confused with each other). The raw measurements are sent wirelessly to a base station via XBee. The PIC-powered base station receives the data from the glove, displays the individual finger positions on a LED matrix, determines what letter is being signed (using “a LOT of code” says Sam), and then both speaks the letter using a SpeakJet chip, and displays the text on an LCD.

SparkFun Electronics

Continued article: “We’ve seen projects like this before, but Sam’s was particularly impressive, especially given his age (did we mention he’s in the 8th grade?). Sam says he’s been building electronic projects for years, and has a fondness for robotics. He was inspired to build this project after interacting with a deaf employee at his school, and wanted to create something that would help the hard of hearing more easily communicate.”

This is spectacular. I’m in college and can’t imagine developing something like this!
I guess this kid is a young leader in engineering trying to create a more accessible world for everyone. How admirable!