The advent of motion capture technology allows us to study ASL from a new perspective. The Rokoko smartsuit II uses EMF and sensor technology which enables us to more accurately capture ASL sign production, avoiding common pitfalls of 2D videos such as image occlusion. The suit automatically collects limb position and velocity data from a signer for more precise measurements of sign execution. We are currently working to assemble a bank of ASL stimuli composed of signs, sentences, and actions which can be used for future EEG studies. Our current interest is to examine the role of postures (eg. signs which make contact with the body) in ASL processing. The suits measurements allow us to align specific moments in sign production with corresponding EEGs from subjects who are presented with the stimuli to determine whether moments of contact elicit a response indicative of lexical or semantic processing.
Rokoko Motion Capture Suit Performing ASL
Glossed Sentence: #LARVAE FIRST #COCOON INSIDE CL:WRAPPED -UP EVENTUALLY WILL GO-OUT BECOME BUTTERFLY COOL
*After rendering in Rokoko, we correct errors related to contact signs in the software Maya.
Rokoko Motion Capture Suit of the Action “Talking on the Phone”
iPhone video of Elias in Motion Capture Suit
Glossed sentence: #BEACH ME WANT GO ME CL:BOARD-CAR CAR DRIVE ME
Rokoko. (2024). Capture your body’s motion in real time with Smartsuit Pro II. https://www.rokoko.com/products/smartsuit-pro
Corina, D. P. (2021). Articulatory postures and forward models in American Sign Language: Linguistic and neuroscience evidence. FEAST. Formal and Experimental Advances in Sign language Theory, 4, 61-73.