Inspiration
Over 5 million Deaf and hard-of-hearing people live in Ethiopia. Almost no sign-language learning resources exist in Amharic — the apps out there teach ASL in English, not our language. There are very few trained interpreters. I am hard of hearing myself, and I have seen Deaf people in my own community who cannot talk with their own families. That silence is what I am trying to break.
What it does
Free mobile-first web app teaching Ethiopian Sign Language in English and Amharic. Learn mode: everyday word cards in English and Amharic, tap to flip. Quiz mode: test yourself. Camera practice: the camera watches your hand shapes and gives real-time feedback — MediaPipe hand tracking runs fully on-device, your video never leaves your phone. No sign-up, no download — opens in any mobile browser.
How we built it
HTML, CSS, JavaScript — three small files, no framework, no build step, no server. MediaPipe hand tracking in the browser for camera practice. Hosted free on GitHub Pages. Open source, MIT license. Built with free AI coding tools (Gemini Code Assist) plus my own code.
Challenges
Building on a Chromebook with limited storage and processing — everything had to be lightweight and static. Making camera hand tracking work reliably in a mobile browser, on-device, with no server to fall back on.
Accomplishments
A working app, live and free for anyone to use.
What we learned
The simplest technology can carry the most human weight. A static web page a mother can open on her phone to learn her child's language is enough to start changing a family.
What's next
First usable learning version Jan-Mar 2027 with more words and lessons; then an interpreter directory and booking so Deaf people can find real interpreters. If it works in Ethiopia, the same approach can help other African countries that lack sign-language tools.
Built With
- css
- github
- html
- javascript
- mediapipe
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.