A team of engineering students from the University of Antwerp in Belgium have invented a robotic arm that can perform sign language. The revolutionary device is called Project ASLAN, meaning “Antwerp’s Sign Language Actuating Node.” The device’s inventors hope it will have a positive impact on the hearing-impaired community.

“A deaf person who needs to appear in court, a deaf person following a lesson in a classroom somewhere,” said Robotics Instructor at the University of Antwerp Erwin Smet to online newspaper New Atlas. “These are all circumstances where a deaf person needs a sign language interpreter, but where such an interpreter is not readily available. This is where a low-cost option like ASLAN can offer a solution.”

The invention’s aim is to fill in for lack of available sign language interpreters. The device was the brainchild of three of the university’s graduate students, Guy Fierens, Stijn Huys and Jasper Slaets.

“I was talking to friends about the shortage of sign language interpreters in Belgium, especially in Flanders for the Flemish sign language,” said Huys to Digital Trends. “We wanted to do something about it. I also wanted to work on robotics for my master’s, so we combined the two.”

The result is the ASLAN prototype. Tech Crunch reported that the unique creation is fabricated by 3D printing the 25 individual parts used to make up the device. According to New Atlas, the robot works through connection to a computer that is linked to a network that allows users to send text messages that the hand will sign.

While the initial design involves only one hand, New Atlas reported that the team hopes to eventually design a two-armed robot with a face that can perform sign language with all the expressions and subtle gestures that a human interpreter would.

It could be used in the public sphere, where active interpretation is not the only function the robot can perform. ASLAN will also be used to teach students learning sign language.

“I think it’s pretty cool that people are bringing innovation to language,” said sophomore Braxton Hale.

The device and its uses in public places has the potential to educate more than just students. ASLAN could advocate for hearing-impaired individuals by bringing attention to issues that affect them regularly.

“We don’t think about it day to day,” said first-year Kyra Stanley. “We don’t think that there is this other language, sign language.”

The robot also highlights struggles of hearing-impaired people in daily life and the uninformed manner in which they can sometimes be treated.

“People try to guide them around and treat them like a child,” said first-year Cassandra, who requested that her last name not be used.  “It takes away their independence.”

Usage of the robot could start offer a new freedom that isn’t always available to people with hearing impairments.

“I think it will give people more opportunities,” said Cassandra.

The inventors realize the importance of their design and are working to ensure that it is available to all who need it. According to Digital Trends, the team hopes to make the design open-sourced so that the tool is affordable and can be used worldwide in a variety of situations and locales.

“I think it could be cool if it was used in … countries where they don’t have as many resources,” said Abby Moton, a sophomore at the University of North Georgia.

From service to education to advocacy, the advancements provided by ASLAN can potentially offer the hearing-impaired community an assistance that could offer previously impossible opportunities.