The devices have a reported 92 percent speech-to-sign accuracy rate, cost $350 each and are made from recycled plastic. Already, 78 units have been sold, expanding educational opportunities for deaf and hearing-impaired children.

Credits: Unsplash; Author: Blake Cheek;

Around 300,000 children in Kenya are deaf or hearing-impaired, while the country lacks a standardised sign language, making subjects such as maths and science difficult to teach.

Deaf teachers and experienced signers helped build the system’s language database. The startup now plans a robotic upper torso designed to increase the technology’s accuracy and expand its sign-language vocabulary.