Saudi student’s invention gives 644m deaf people opportunity to drive

Abu Dhabi: A Saudi medical student at King Saud University who invented a system to help deaf people drive won the World Intellectual Property Organisation Cup, as the best female inventor in the world in 2020.

Renad Hussain won the gold medal at the International Exhibition of Inventions and Innovations in Malaysia in 2019, and she also won the gold award at the Korea International Olympiad for the best invention in the world 2020.

During an interview with the Saudi Al Akhbariya TV, Hussain talked about her recent invention, noting that some countries prevent the deaf from driving, which prompted her to think about developing a solution to this problem.

“The solution was to find acoustic sensors that translate external sounds and send them to the vehicle driver via a screen, through which the deaf person can identify the surrounding sounds,” she added.

“Since many deaf people are not literate, I have added colours and images to the sensors, and this is the fastest way to alert,” she said.

She emphasised that “this invention will allow about 644 million deaf people around the world to drive cars, and will give them the ability to perceive sounds through the sense of sight,” explaining that “this will reduce the risks to which the deaf and others are exposed alike.”