Christina Poon
Overview
For in-dept details of my work, please contact me.
Problem
Communication is the basic foundation of building interpersonal relationships and navigating everyday life. Currently, there aren’t many accessible solutions that can bridge the communication gap between individuals with deaf impairments. Amid Covid-19 and the mask mandate, this poses more difficulties deaf individuals to communicate
“There are 466 million people in the world with disabling hearing loss. This is over 5% of the world’s population.”
- World Health Organization
Goal
Make communication easy and accessible between deaf and able-bodied groups.
Solution
A wearable smart interpreter for the deaf
Ligo is a wearable smart device and app that eliminates communication barriers for the deaf community. Using motion detection technology and artificial intelligence, Ligo acts as your personal interpreter for every situation.
Translating sign language to speech and text
Interpret speech and audio in real-time
a promotional video about the product
The Device
Ligo
Ligo. A wearable smart interpreter consisting of two motion-detecting bands, a comfortable viewing screen, six-speaker outputs, and a built-in AI. Ligo is intended for everyday wear, hence it's sleek, inconspicuous, and comfortable design.
international students
leisure travellers
professional expats
expedited applicants
families
The Device
Designed to provide a seamless onboarding experience, more flexible viewing options and extended features
Connect your device to your phone
seamlessly switch from viewing ASL on your device to your phone.
Direct your conversation anywhere
You can use Bluetooth to send your audio to anyone's phone or Bluetooth device.
Hassle-free calling
You can forget about third-party relay services, Ligo's calling feature interprets your phone calls instantaneously inside the app.
Every feature tailored just for you
The extensive accessibility features allow you to tailor the app to fit your needs.
In conclusion
Whilst navigating this 3 month-long project, we ensured our priority was to serve the deaf community the best we could. However, that process came with a lot of learning and unlearning of our own assumptions. Initially, we were blindsided by our own narrow understanding of the deaf community. After reaching out to users in our target demographic, we were able to gain a clearer understanding of our objectives and thus, empathize better with their needs
Overall, this project allowed us to further expand our understanding of accessibility within tech. Moving forward, we strive to continuously learn and apply our knowledge to future projects, as well as other aspects of our lives.
For the Future
Develop the 3D model interpreter to Include facial expressions, which is essential to ASL.
Work with deaf consultants and developers in the design process, to further develop the technical feasibility.
Conduct user testing with our target audience to further refine Ligo.
Include ASL-only speakers in our survey and user-testing.
Next project: ReelTime
