iSignNow

This project was inspired by real experience. As a substitute teacher working with special education students, I struggled to understand my students’ basic needs, such as hunger, bathroom use, or discomfort. They were communicating, but I did not know how to understand them. At the same time, April is Autism Awareness Month, which highlights how common this issue is. About 25–30% of autistic individuals are nonverbal or minimally verbal, and many rely on signs or gestures to communicate. We realized this is not just about autism. It affects anyone who relies on alternative communication and the people trying to understand them.

We created iSignNow, an interactive American Sign Language (ASL) learning platform that allows users to practice signing in real time using their camera. Users can practice letters, numbers, and words while receiving immediate feedback. If the sign is correct, the system confirms it. If not, users can keep trying until they improve. The system can also recognize what the user is attempting to sign, even when it is not fully correct.

We built iSignNow using AI-assisted tools and computer vision techniques. The system uses the camera to track hand movements and compare them to known ASL signs in real time. We used Python and computer vision libraries to process hand tracking and recognition, allowing the system to provide immediate feedback to users.

One of the biggest challenges was making the system accurately recognize hand movements in real time. Small differences in hand position or angle could affect recognition, so we went through trial and error to improve accuracy. Another challenge was designing a system that is simple enough for beginners but still useful in real-world situations, since we wanted to move away from passive learning and create something interactive.

We learned the importance of understanding the problem before building a solution, as it took time to fully define what we wanted to solve. We also learned how to work as a team and leverage each other’s strengths, combining social impact with technical development. Overall, we learned that building something meaningful requires trial and error and a strong focus on real-world use.

Built With

• claude
• python