Copyright © 2012 Kirsten Ellis and Jan Carlo Barca. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

This research investigates if a computer and an alternative input device in the form of sensor gloves can be used in the process of teaching children sign language. The presented work is important, because no current literature investigates how sensor gloves can be used to assist children in the process of learning sign language. The research presented in this paper has been conducted by assembling hardware into sensor gloves, and by designing software capable of (i) filtering out sensor noise, (ii) detecting intentionally posed signs, and (iii) correctly evaluating signals in signs posed by different children. Findings show that the devised technology can form the basis of a tool that teaches children sign language, and that there is a potential for further research in this area.