Summary:
This web-based project is a computer program constructed for fingerspelling in American Sign Language (ASL).

Students:
Brandon Morse, Department of Art
Peter Gerstmann, ACCAD
Liza McConnell, Department of Art
Barb Olsafsky, School of Educatioal Policy
and Leadership

Staff:
Matthew Lewis, ACCAD

PI:
Brian Rotman

Summary:
This web-based project was a computer program constructed for fingerspelling in American Sign Language (ASL).

Benefits:
1.Educational Practice: giving ASL learners an interactive software tool designed to make the acquisition of fingerspelling easier and more attractive
2.Research: contributing to the investigation of dynamical effects occurring in and between signs
3.Socialization: Facilitating the entry of deaf students into mainstream culture by simultaneously enhancing their literacy in English and appreciation of technology

The program shows a virtual hand, able to fingerspell any English word. The interface allows the user to control the position in space from which the image is viewed, as well as its appearance (size, lighting, rendering) and dynamic presentation (speed, acceleration, degree of hold). The construction of the program used the existing animation and 3-D modeling resources of ACCAD.

Sponsored by Battelle Endowment for Technology and Human Affairs (BETHA)

Completed in 2001.