Two UAE students create app that translates thoughts into spoken Arabic
Groundbreaking invention gives voice to those who can't speak
Sharjah: Two university students have developed an innovative application called “KALAM” that transforms thoughts into spoken or written Arabic, offering a voice to those who cannot speak.
Developed by Ahmed Zahir and Ahmed Shadid from the American University of Sharjah, the app enables non-verbal Arabic speakers and individuals with speech impairments to communicate using an advanced EEG-based imagined speech technology, Emarat Al Youm reported.
Their invention won second place in the James Dyson Award UAE 2025, recognising its transformational potential for people with speech impairments.
KALAM works by capturing brain signals using an EEG (electroencephalogram) headset when users think of specific Arabic words. The raw signals are first filtered to remove noise, then processed to identify key brainwave patterns.
These are matched against a trained library of 30 Arabic words. Once a match is found, the word appears as text or is spoken aloud by the application, all in real time and without any physical movement.
The researchers said what makes KALAM unique is its focus on imagined Arabic speech, a field largely overlooked in brain–computer interface research, which is dominated by English-language systems. Unlike assistive tools that rely on eye tracking, physical switches, or limited symbol boards, KALAM enables users to communicate purely by thought.
They hope the app will pave the way for more inclusive communication technologies in the Arabic-speaking world.
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