A Natural Interface for Sign Language Mathematics

The general goal of our research is the creation of a natural and intuitive interface for input and recognition of American Sign Language (ASL) math signs. The specific objective of this work is the development of two new interfaces for the Mathsigner application. Mathsigner is an interactive, 3D animation-based game designed to increase the mathematical skills of deaf children. The program makes use of standard input devices such as mouse and keyboard. In this paper we show a significant extension of the application by proposing two new user interfaces: (1) a glove-based interface, and (2) an interface based on the use of a specialized keyboard. So far, the interfaces allow for real-time input and recognition of the ASL numbers zero to twenty.