Robotic hand translates speech into sign language
From: The Yomiuri Shimbun

An 80-centimeter robotic hand that can covert spoken words and simple phrases
into sign language has been developed in a town in Fukuoka Prefecture.  

The robotic hand was shown at a two-legged robot tournament held at the
Fukuoka Prefecture Education Center in Sasagurimachi, where it won applause
from appreciative spectators.  

A microchip in the robot recognizes the 50-character hiragana syllabary and
about 10 simple phrases such as "ohayo" (good morning) and sends the
information to a central computer, which sends commands to 18 micromotors in
the joints of the robotic hand, translating the sound it hears into sign
language.  

The aluminum robot was developed by a team led by the center's head
instructor Keita Matsuo, 39, and Hirotsugu Sakai, 38, who is attending a
long-term training program for schoolteachers.  

The two men came up with the idea when they visited a school for the
hearing-impaired and communicated with students through an interpreter who
signed for them.  

"We wondered if it would be possible to communicate with them via robots,"
Matsuo said.  

They studied a book on sign language, and spent about two months creating the
system, increasing the number of joints in the hand to 18 so that it could
sign smoothly.  

They added that in the future, hundreds of thousands of words could be
programmed into the voice recognition unit and the robotic hand could
function as a receptionist.  

The robot was shown to teachers at the school in December to ensure that its
sign language was understandable.  

Read the entire article at:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/culture/20060116TDY19003.htm

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A Deaf Robot, or more specifically a Fingerspelling Robotic Hand coming up on
the horizon?  

Well, at a recent tournament in Sasagurimachi, Japan to determine which robot
is the best robot, one of the robotic contestants was a Fingerspelling
Robotic Hand.  

Could a Deaf Man carry on a conversation with the Fingerspelling Robotic
Hand? At this point, doubtful since the "monster" only has a range of 10
Japanese phrases.  

The Fingerspelling Robotic Hand creators are working on an expanded Robotic
Vocabulary to allow for a Human-to-Robot sign language conversation.  

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Links:
Robot hand translates speech into sign language
http://robotgossip.blogspot.com/2006/01/robot-hand-translates-speech-into-sign.html
http://playingsynchronicity.blogspot.com/