An alumna of Dar Al-Hekma University last week shared with the institution's current students her success story. Hadeel Ayoub was able to design a "smart glove" intended to help disabled people to overcome communication barriers. Hadeel Ayoub spoke to the students under the lecture series titled "Dream it, Plan it, Do it", which is designed to motivate and encourage students to strive for success and achieve distinction. It was not a scheduled lecture. When Ayoub came to visit President of Dar Al-Hekma Dr. Suhair Hassan Al-Qurashi it was decided she would be giving the lecture within the week. Ayoub is a successful interior designer and media artist who graduated from Dar Al-Hekma back in 2004. She is currently studying at Goldsmiths University of London for her PhD in Arts and Computational Technology. During her class "Design with a Cause," which proved to be too technical that she actually contemplated quitting more than once, she invented the new piece of technology that answers the course's mission and may be the key in breaking an existing communication barrier. "Dar Al-Hekma University has an open door policy when it comes to our students and alumnae. That is why they feel that they can come to me at any point of their lives when they need guidance. Hadeel came to me when things were getting hard in her higher studies and I do hope I gave her the push that she needed at the time," said Al-Qurashi. She added, "We are very proud of Hadeel's achievement and we are trying to extend any support she might need. At the same time, we connected her with Dar Al-Hekma students to inspire them and prove to them that they too can make great achievements in future." In simple English, the glove reads the hand movement when using sign language and then translates the movements into words, then displays the words on a screen. Ayoub has already created three different prototypes of the piece, and in her latest version all the components of this rather incredible device fit on the glove itself; and on the wrist area of the glove there is a little monitor that instantly shows translated sign words as text. "I am looking into the possibility of manufacturing this glove on a commercial basis. I am now in the fourth prototype but the applications are limitless. I am working on having the glove translate words into voice, text messages and emails," said Ayoub with great enthusiasm while sharing her success with the Dar Al-Hekma management. For the fourth version, the inventor hopes to enable Wi-Fi on the glove so that it can send information directly to a smartphone or tablet, and create an accompanying app to display information. "This glove has the potential to overcome communication barriers between hearing impaired, visual impaired and speech impaired individuals," Ayoub told curious students, faculty and staff who filled the university's Prince Bandar Bin Sultan Auditorium. Ayoub said it means a lot to her to "eliminate disability, language and physical barriers." Sharing her experience with the audience, Ayoub took them through all the phases of her inventions, the obstacles that she had to overcome and the inspiration that kept her going. "The lecture was indeed inspiring. The fact that the inventor is an alumna made me even more proud of Dar Al-Hekma University," said Amrina Farooqui, who is a student in the Banking and Finance Department. Ayoub aspires to integrate more sign languages and more languages in her glove to help many people communicate and conquer all communication barriers they face in their daily lives. With a goal like this, the smart glove may be the first of many inventions Ayoub will introduce to further her mission.
