Original story posted by John Sullivan, Office of Communications, School of Engineering and Applied Science
Pitches for new ventures often build on verbal pyrotechnics and enthusiastic speechmaking, but Princeton University senior Colin Lualdi kept the crowd hanging on his eight-minute presentation without speaking a word.
Quick as the eye could follow, his hands flashed through signs, and an interpreter's voice responded from the audience.
"I am sure you are wondering what I just said," Lualdi signed. "That's perfect because this presentation is about American Sign Language [(ASL)] and a revolutionary way to learn ASL online."
Sign School, an online ASL video-learning system designed for individuals and schools, was the first of eight projects presented at the fifth-annual Demo Day organized by Princeton University's Keller Center. The teams described their new ventures before capacity crowds in the Friend Center at Princeton Aug. 9, and at the Manhattan headquarters of the technology firm AppNexus Aug. 10.
This year's events featured short videos followed by team presentations, which included a robot-chef designed to prepare food and clean up after itself; a new system that improves resolution and accuracy of medical ultrasound imaging; and video-advertising screens that can be mounted on top of rideshare vehicles.
Demo Day is a final showcase for the student groups participating in the Keller Center’s startup "launch pad," the eLab Summer Accelerator Program. Cornelia Huellstrunk, the Keller Center's executive director, told the audience that the eLab program's goal is educational as well as entrepreneurial.
"I ask them," Huellstrunk said. "Why are you here, and what is it that you really care about?"
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