Peruvian engineer Leoncio Huamán Peredo received recognition from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for the creation of «Vision D», a display that allows people with hearing impairment to visualize the words spoken by the people with whom they communicate without using sign language. The award recognizes his contribution in humanitarian issues where technology aims to solve disability problems through sustainable tools for patients suffering from this affliction.
This technology consists on a small viewfinder, suitable for all types of glasses, which projects phrases and words from another interlocutor in real time through the IBM Watson Speech to Text service. This way the user can continue a conversation without losing eye contact with the other person. Additionally, the users can add a function on the device that allows them to receive the translation of what the person with whom they are communicating are saying through text messages. The engineer, who works as Solution Architect Hybrid Solutions at IBM, announced that this recognition will allow him to make improvements to the device so he can help peruvians who cannot access a cochlear implant or a sign language interpreter, since in Peru not everyone knows this language.
In Peru there are more than half a million citizens with hearing impairment. Huamán hopes that this new discovery will help people with hearing impairment to feel more included in society and develop in any professional field. The tests of the innovation were developed with the support of the Association of Deaf Youth and Adolescents of Peru. The system programming code is an open source so other scientists and developers can make improvements for the product, as in the ergonomic design of the screen, updates and other uses that can be given to the viewer.
