2017 / Industrial And Life Science Design
/ Aids/Prosthetics
/ Student
Muhimu
Muhimu is a supporting service for deaf
students to be integrated into mainstreamed
school environments without the dependency
on interpreters. Its’ core service is to provide
such user group the ability to perceive sound,
facilitated through technology, using visual and
tactile sensory systems. Enabled by a set of
smart rings and a connected app, deaf
students are able to emerge themselves in
auditory based environments by empathizing
with other peers and understanding different
levels of information in real time. Through the
use of sound tracking technology, Muhimu
filters surrounding noise by analyzing and
identifying the sound and matching it with a
pre-recorded library of stored sounds. These
identified sound is sent to the Muhimu rings in
the respective haptic pattern behavior,
alongside the respective visual feedback on the
app if desired. Both haptic patterns and visual
feedback are a series of user-customized
settings through which deaf students can
eventually recognize through tactile and visual
memory. Through the app, users can select
between “my sounds” and “chat” to
proactively be engaged in their surroundings.
Muhimu’s “my sounds”, is a wide range list of
pre-recorded sounds that deaf students are
able to be sensitive to. Each of these sounds
are pre-recorded by Muhimu to enable deaf
students to feel and see such sounds. A sound
could vary between user’s own name, to
keywords such as “pizza”, to the sound of
lightning. Each of these, however, is outputted
through different haptic patterns via the smart
rings and through visual representations via the
app. Muhimu’s “chat” on the other hand,
focuses on typical speech to text technology to
translate to deaf students spoken information
within classrooms and group meetings.
Through the app, users can follow along the
conversation through emotional interface.
Photo Credit: Savannah College Of Art And Design
