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2001 Best Inventions


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When high school student Ryan Patterson, 18, saw a deaf woman trying to order food at a Burger King, he had a eureka moment: Why not create a device that translates sign language into text? Armed with that idea and a leather golf glove, Patterson created a device that senses its wearer's hand movements and transmits them wirelessly to a tiny handheld monitor, where they appear as words. The device won Patterson a top prize at the Siemens Westinghouse Science and Technology Competition.

Availability: Prototype
To Learn More: www.siemens-foundation.org


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FROM THE NOV. 18, 2002 ISSUE OF TIME MAGAZINE; POSTED SUNDAY, NOV. 10, 2002

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