More Brilliant Hacks from Hack-A-Bot 2025 Powered by IMX500: Sign Language to Speech & Lab Assistant Robot

Building on the energy and innovation that defined Hack-A-Bot 2025, we're taking a closer look at some of the standout projects that emerged from the 24-hour challenge at The University of Manchester. Nearly 300 students from all sorts of fields, from neuroscience to software engineering, came together for the weekend to turn ideas into real, practical solutions—things that could make a difference in people's lives. A key technology behind these projects was the Raspberry Pi AI Camera, integrated with Sony’s IMX500 sensor, enabling AI-driven solutions with powerful computer vision and real-time processing.

SpeakUp- AI-Powered Sign Language to Speech Translator

One project that truly stood out was SpeakUp, a real-time sign language to speech translator. The idea? Build a device that can translate American Sign Language into spoken English - instantly.

Using a Raspberry Pi 3 and a Raspberry Pi AI Camera with Sony's IMX500 integrated sensor, the team finetuned a custom mobilenet classifier to recognize individual hand gestures, initially focusing on the fundamental building blocks of communication: letters. Federico Di Mase, a member of the team, shared, “With the Sony AI camera we were able to translate sign language in real time, wishing to make non-verbal individuals feel more included in the university sphere, but not only. It's really inspiring to see how technology can close communication gaps and foster accessibility.”

The model runs locally on the AiCamera, allowing for enough available resources on the Raspberry Pi, ensuring real-time functionality without relying on an internet connection. Once the AI model detects a gesture, the system swiftly converts it into text and uses eSpeak software to vocalize the translation. Benan Miran Altun shared, “SpeakUp let us explore the power of AI — translating hand gestures into sign language in real time using a Raspberry Pi and trained ML models.”

The Raspberry Pi AI Camera with Sony’s IMX500 sensor plays a crucial role in enabling real-time processing and precise computer vision, making this breakthrough in communication possible. As Advait Paranjpe put it, “With SpeakUp I helped bring real-time gesture recognition to life on embedded hardware — making sign language heard.”

Beyond the code and hardware, SpeakUp became a learning milestone. Santiago Rojas Tunjano reflected, “The event provided a transformative experience, laying a solid foundation for my machine learning journey as I continue to master advanced techniques in real-world applications.”

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Autonomous Lab Assistant Robot

Another compelling project from this year's hackathon turned its focus to elevating the efficiency and safety of laboratory environments through AI-powered assistance. The team developed an intelligent robot capable of autonomously monitoring experiments, detecting potential hazards, and providing real-time alerts, leading to a more secure and productive lab setting.

By expertly integrating the Raspberry Pi AI Camera featuring Sony's advanced IMX500 sensor, the team engineered a system with the ability to recognize various laboratory equipment, identify potentially unsafe conditions, and meticulously track the progress of experiments.

This AI-driven system operates autonomously, allowing researchers and lab personnel to concentrate on their core tasks while the robot diligently ensures equipment is correctly configured and potential risks are promptly flagged.

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The Raspberry Pi AI Camera, powered by the capabilities of Sony’s IMX500 sensor, was central to the success of these impactful projects, providing the advanced computer vision and real-time processing necessary to bring these innovative ideas to life. We extend our congratulations to both the SpeakUp and Autonomous Lab Assistant Robot teams for their dedication.