Snapchat is launching a new lens designed to help you learn American Sign Language (ASL) and develop new nonverbal communication skills. It's called ASL Alphabet Lens, and Snapchat is launching it in partnership with SignAll, a company that has developed technology to translate sign language.
Particularly, the social media company is using SignAll's AI technology to recognize hand gestures. Snapchat relied on its Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing team, called the "Deafengers," to develop the new lens.
“For native signers, in a world where linguistic inequity is prevalent, we believe AR can help evolve the way we communicate. We look forward to learning more from our community as we strive to continuously improve experiences for everyone on Snapchat,” the company wrote in a blog post.
The new AR lens offers tools to help Snap users fingerspell words and names using individual letters, practice the alphabet, and play games to test their ASL knowledge.
Snapchat users globally can now use the new ASL Alphabet Lens on Android and iOS. You can also try it here.