KYOTO -- Takao Kurokawa, 58, a professor at Kyoto Institute of Technology and a human interface specialist, initially dreamed of inventing a device to interpret intentions by analyzing facial expressions, gestures or glances.
But he instead developed a device that translates Japanese into sign language via computer graphic animation.
While the device cannot effectively translate ordinary conversations in Japanese, it has reached a level where instructions or expressions can be communicated to deaf people, according to Kurokawa.