Advances in robotics research

Techno-Press (테크노프레스)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Development of robotic hands of signbot, advanced Malaysian sign-language performing robot

  • Al-Khulaidi, Rami Ali (Department of Mechatronics Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia) ;
  • Akmeliawati, Rini (School of Mechanical Engineering, the University of Adelaide) ;
  • Azlan, Norsinnira Zainul (Department of Mechatronics Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia) ;
  • Bakr, Nuril Hana Abu (Department of Mechatronics Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia) ;
  • Fauzi, Norfatehah M. (Department of Mechatronics Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia)
  • Received : 2018.02.01
  • Accepted : 2018.10.19
  • Published : 2018.09.25
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

This paper presents the development of a 3D printed humanoid robotic hands of SignBot, which can perform Malaysian Sign Language (MSL). The study is considered as the first attempt to ease the means of communication between the general community and the hearing-impaired individuals in Malaysia. The signed motions performed by the developed robot in this work can be done by two hands. The designed system, unlike previously conducted work, includes a speech recognition system that can feasibly integrate with the controlling platform of the robot. Furthermore, the design of the system takes into account the grammar of the MSL which differs from that of Malay spoken language. This reduces the redundancy and makes the design more efficient and effective. The robot hands are built with detailed finger joints. Micro servo motors, controlled by Arduino Mega, are also loaded to actuate the relevant joints of selected alphabetical and numerical signs as well as phrases for emergency contexts from MSL. A database for the selected signs is developed wherein the sequential movements of the servo motor arrays are stored. The results showed that the system performed well as the selected signs can be understood by hearing-impaired individuals.

Keywords

References

  1. Al-khulaidi, R.A. and Akmeliawati, R. (2017), Speech to Text Translation for Malay Language, in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, IOP Publishing.
  2. Anuja, K., Suryapriya, S. and Idicula, S.M. (2009), "Design and development of a frame based MT system for English-to-ISL", Proceedings of the World Congress on Nature & Biologically Inspired Computing, Coimbatore, India, December.
  3. Bento, J., Claudio, A.P. and Urbano, P. (2014), "Avatars on Portuguese Sign Language", Proceedings of the 9th Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (CISTI), Barcelona, Spain, June.
  4. Bruner, J.S. (1993), Acts of Meaning, Harvard University Press.
  5. Falconer, J. (2013), Humanoid Robot Demonstrates Sign Language, .
  6. Fierens. G., Huys, S. and Slaets, J. (2014), "Humanoid robot for sign language", M.Sc. Thesis, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
  7. Gatti, J., Fonda, C., Tenze, L. and Canessa, E. (2014), "Voice-controlled artificial handspeak system", Int. J. Artif. Intel. Appl., 5(1), 107-112. https://doi.org/10.5121/ijaia.2014.5108
  8. Gyrobot (2014), Flexy-Hand, Thingiverse, .
  9. Kose, H. and Yorganci, R. (2011), "Tale of a robot: Humanoid robot assisted sign language tutoring", Proceedings of the 11th IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots, Bled, Slovenia, October.
  10. Lave, J. and Wenger, E. (1991), Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.
  11. Lev, V. (1978), Mind and Society: The Development of Higher Mental Processes, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
  12. Lopez-Ludena, V., San-Segundo, R., Morcillo, C.G., Lopez, J.C. and Munoz, J.M.P. (2013), "Increasing adaptability of a speech into sign language translation system", Expert. Syst. Appl., 40(4), 1312-1322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2012.08.059
  13. Lu, P. and Huenerfauth, M. (2014), "Collecting and evaluating the CUNY ASL corpus for research on American Sign Language animation", Comput. Speech Lang., 28(3), 812-831. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csl.2013.10.004
  14. Masyarakat, J.K. (2014), Laporan Statistik 2014-Buku JKM, .
  15. Michaud, F., Clavet, A., Lachiver, G. and Lucas, M. (2000), Designing Toy Robots to Help Autistic Children-An Open Design Project for Electrical and Computer Engineering Education, in American Society for Engineering Education.
  16. Robins, B., Dautenhahn, K., Te Boekhorst, R. and Billard, A. (2005), "Robotic assistants in therapy and education of children with autism: Can a small humanoid robot help encourage social interaction skills?", Univers. Access. Inf. Soc., 4(5), 105-120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-005-0116-3
  17. Robins, B., Dickerson, P., Stribling, P. and Dautenhahn, K. (2004), "Robot mediated joint attention in children with autism: A case study in robot-human interaction", Interact. Stud., 5(2), 161-198. https://doi.org/10.1075/is.5.2.02rob
  18. Shembade, Y.P. (2012), "Design and simulation of a mechanical hand", M.Sc. Thesis, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York, U.S.A.
  19. Starr, M. (2014), Toshiba's new robot can speak in sign language, .
  20. Su, S.A. and Furuta, R.K. (1998), "VRML-based representations of ASL fingerspelling on the World-Wide Web", Proceedings of the 3rd International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (ASSETS'98), Marina del Rey, California, U.S.A.