Want to practice American Sign Language? There’s a Snapchat lens for that.
On Tuesday, Snapchat released a new lens that teaches ASL, in partnership with SignAll, which designs AI technology for sign language translation. Called the ASL Alphabet Lens, it teaches you how to fingerspell your own name, practice the ASL alphabet, and play games to test your skills, all using hand-tracking technology. The new lens was led by Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Snap team members, called the “Deafengers.” You can try it here.
“For native signers, in a world where linguistic inequity is prevalent, we believe AR can help evolve the way we communicate,” Snap said in a blog post. “We look forward to learning more from our community as we strive to continuously improve experiences for everyone on Snapchat.”
In September, Snapchat and SignAll released stickers and three augmented reality lenses that also taught fingerspelling basics, during International Week of the Deaf.
“We’re constantly working to expand the ways Snapchatters can express themselves and make connections through our Camera,” Snapchat said. “We hope that Lenses not only evolve the way we see the world, but help us feel closer to one another.”
