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While 70 million deaf people use sign language as their mother tongue, not everyone has knowledge of the language so communicating can still be challenging.

Now a team of entrepreneurs who are all deaf have come up with a tablet case called Uni that can translate sign language into text that is shown on a tablet, to bridge the gap between deaf people and those who can hear.

They describe it as a 'revolutionary two-way communication tool for the deaf and hearing.' 

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A team of entrepreneurs who are all deaf have come up with a tablet case called Uni that can translate sign language on a tablet into text (shown left), to bridge the gap between deaf people and those who can hear. It can also detect speech and translate it into text to help deaf people when lip reading is difficult

Ryan Hait-Campbell, CEO of San Francisco-based start-up MotionSavvy led the development of the translation software that powers the Uni tablet case.

It's designed to fit a Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet, which retails for around $320 (£200), but versions for Android devices and iOS devices are in the works.

The case contains motion-sensing technology that reads sign language and translates it into text that appears on the tablet's screen in real-time, allowing non-deaf people to interpret sign language and deaf people to make themselves more easily understood.

NEW two way communication tool for the deaf and hearing

Uni case is designed to fit a Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet (both pictured) which retails for around $320 (£200), but versions for Android devices and iOS devices are in the works. The case uses Leap Motion technology togethr with a camera to sense hands and fingers

Uni uses Leap Motion's motion-sensing technology, which enables a camera to sense hand movements up to one foot away.

The entrepreneurs' American Sign Language (ASL) recognition software interprets signs and matches them with a database of signs to translate them into the correct word.

Every time someone signs, Uni's software remembers their movements and improves its translation. It gets smarter to learn a user's personal signing style.

The tool also allows ASL users to add their own signs that are saved to a dictionary.

Their hand movements are shown on the screen in real-time so users can see if the software is misinterpreting their signs.

Uni also uses a microphone to detect speech and display it on the tablet's screen for deaf people to read, which may be useful in situations where lip reading is difficult.

The entrepreneurs, from the Rochester Institute of Technology, National Technical Institute for the Deaf, are raising money on Indiegogo to put their device into production.

Uni is available to pre-order for $198 (£124). It's expected to ship in September 2015. A $20-a-month subscription is needed for software updates and crowd signing functions.

The case's American Sign Language (ASL) recognition software interprets signs in real-time, showing what the camera sees on screen (pictured). It matches them with a database of signs to translate them into the correct word, which is displayed on the tablet