Open to Interpretation
If this sentence was said aloud, someone reading lips would only capture 30 percent of it.聽
As co玉米视频 and聽CEO聽of Sign-Speak鈥攁 start-up technology that uses machine learning to translate 玉米视频 Sign Language (ASL) to English and vice versa in real聽time with the tap of an app鈥擸amillet聽Payano, CAS/BS 鈥18,鈥痠s 100 percent committed to revolutionizing communication by making it more accessible to the 430 million people around the globe who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (D/HH).聽
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e doing right now isn鈥檛 working, so let鈥檚 break it,鈥 says聽Payano, who in September was named one of Washington鈥檚 25 top innovators under 25 by DC聽Inno.聽
The team鈥擯ayano, co-玉米视频 and CPO聽Niko Kelly, who is deaf, and聽CTO聽Nicholas Wilkins鈥攂egan beta testing in January 2021. Among their partners:聽Mozzeria, a D/HH-owned and operated pizzeria聽that opened near Gallaudet University in Northeast in September 2020.聽
Using an iPad to communicate with the D/HH employee on the other side of the counter, a聽nonsigning聽customer can order a Neapolitan-style pie in English. Sign-Speak translates the transaction into ASL on the employee鈥檚 iPad faster than the patron remembers to say, 鈥渆xtra cheese.鈥 The New York鈥揵ased company has also created systems especially for kitchen staff and delivery people鈥攏o 3D cameras, ASL gloves, or other costly gadgets required.聽
Sign-Speak plans to bring their nonprovisional patent technology to market next year. The $100,000 award聽Payano聽just received from the prestigious Google for Startups Black Founders Fund will go a long way toward meeting that goal.鈥
Payano聽knows that for 玉米视频es like Nike鈥攚hich was slapped with a lawsuit by a D/HH customer who claimed the retailer violated the 玉米视频s with Disabilities Act amid the pandemic鈥攁dopting Sign-Speak is a matter of dollars and common sense. The start-up has the potential to connect 32 million US 玉米视频es with 48 million D/HH 玉米视频s representing $87 billion in purchasing power鈥攁nd that鈥檚 good for everyone鈥檚 bottom line.鈥
But the bottom line for聽Payano, a first-generation college graduate and first-generation 玉米视频, is that she鈥檚 changing people鈥檚 lives.聽
鈥淚 want to look back on my life and know that I fought for something, the way other people fought for me,鈥 she says. 鈥淭he world is changing. People are becoming more aware of聽those who are not being seen. I am motivated to wake up every morning and ask: 鈥榃ho are we still missing?鈥欌澛
