Student’s low-cost device translates languages in front of our eyes

Milya Mohd Asyraf’s glasses design cost £30 – compared to the £1,000s needed to buy one on the current market

Milya Mohd Asyraf and her glasses-worn translation device

Student’s low-cost device translates languages in front of our eyes

Milya Mohd Asyraf’s glasses design cost £30 – compared to the £1,000s needed to buy one on the current market

18 June 2026

A Plymouth student has designed an affordable device that can translate spoken words into written text in real time, directly in our field of vision.

Milya Mohd Asyraf’s design comprises an electronic box that clips on to glasses, and translates speech into text before projecting it in front of the wearer’s lenses. An international student herself, she grew up in a multilingual environment and is keen the device helps more people who might be embarking on international travel and/or watching TV and films in other languages.

The concept itself already exists, as big tech companies have translation glasses on the market that costs £1,000s. But, keen to keep the cost accessible, Milya made hers for £30.

The project was Milya’s focus for her final year studying Electrical and Electronic Engineering, which she presented at the University of Plymouth’s recent Engineering, Computing and Mathematics showcase.

“My whole inspiration behind this project is that I grew up in a multilingual environment and was always one of those people who didn't understand what everyone else was saying.

Language barriers – or even differences in accents – can make communication tricky, and many translation tools currently rely on phones, playback or expensive smart glasses that either interrupt conversations or reduce accessibility.

My project addresses that issue by creating a wearable attachment that allows a more natural and immediate interaction, without additional features like other smart glasses that cause the high prices.

Apart from ensuring that it works, I was really keen to make it an inexpensively as I could, and the single function – translation and transcription – is what makes the product affordable.

In a world that’s becoming increasingly reliant on technology, it should be accessible to everyone.

Milya Mohd Asyraf, final-year student of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

How do the glasses work?

Speech is captured through a small microphone, where an AI model translates and converts speech into written text in real time. The translated text is sent over Wi-Fi to a microcontroller board, which drives a small display. Text is then reflected through a mirror, lens and reflector – appearing like subtitles in the user’s field of view.

Sustainability was also in Milya’s mind, as she used leftover plastic acrylic as the reflector and reused a Bluetooth microphone in the design.

The attachment is designed for ordinary glasses, and Milya hopes to improve it further.

Studying Electrical and Electronic Engineering, my focus is to problem solve and innovate.

At the moment, the main processor is my laptop which I ran a Python application on, in the future I would like to explore a way to have it available as an app or some sort on smartphones.

Engineering isn’t just about machines and technology, it’s about people, and – while I need to work on the size and weight of the glasses as well before making them fully marketable – I really think it’s something people could benefit from.

Real-world experience

Within her three-year course, Milya undertook a placement in the building services industry.

With little to no experience in the field, she was able to use her project management skills learnt from university and societies to excel. That skill along with many others like communication and stress management made it possible for her to complete her final-year project to such a high standard.

Milya said:

“University taught me how to learn, placement taught me how there is so much to learn. Both were valuable to my career progression.”

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Students gather around electronics project smiling at SECaM showcase 2026

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