As a Sign student I've commented on this project a few times as I wanted to give some relevant examples. As others pointed out ASL is not simply English replac

As a Sign student I've commented on this project a few times as I wanted to give some relevant examples. As others pointed out ASL is not simply English replaced with symbols but is its own nuanced language. Many Sign speakers learn to read and write English as well and so can use a bridge called PSE (pidgin sign english) which is commonly used in the workplace, but it is certainly not ASL. In ASL facial expression not only accounts for ones grammar but can signifigantly change the meaning of the sentence, for example: -I pay him on a regular basis -I always pay him diligently -I always pay with ease -I always manage to pay These four sentences have very different meaning but can all be made with the exact same ASL signs and only a different facial expression. Beyond that the grammar, syntax and even word choice of ASL is not the same as English. For an example, just the other day my ASL teacher who is deaf came away with the sentence: "There[directional], swim swim finish drive shop food room [#CM] eat burger champ I" In English this would be interpreted: "I was swimming there (pointed at building down the street), then I drove to the food court at the mall and ate the best burger." There are a lot of things we don't use in English such as directional pointers, or the fact that he finger-spelled CM as the initials of our local mall to clarify what he meant. Then there are different meanings such as using "finish" to list of a series of events, or "champ" to represent something is the best he's had. If you take a pair of gloves and stick them on an ASL speaker and simply spit out English with no understanding of the language and no note of facial expression - you're going to have a bad time. And you are likely unable to easily build a system to translate ASL syntax to English as there isn't an easy to use large corpus of samples. Lastly, in the article the founders are saying how communication is a fundamental human right and this is supposed to empower the ASL community. The ASL community is a vibrant community, who can communicate (even surprisingly well with non-ASL speakers). You'll certainly face a lot of backlash if you suggest they are disadvantaged or lack a voice. Many deaf individuals will be sure to tell you that they are not disadvantaged they just communicate differently. All in all, it's an interesting technology but I think if you move forward with a technology like this for people to use it needs to be with the involvement of that people and an understanding of their needs, culture and language. For example, using this as input device for a computer may be a more natural use case for a lot of ASL users.