Check out real-life AI prototypes from the Futures Lab.

What if you could learn Japanese through custom AI-generated stories, or practice sign language with an AI tutor that gives real-time feedback?

These are working prototypes built by students in the Google-funded Futures Lab, a partnership with the University of Waterloo. Each lab is an eight-week intensive AI and user experience prototyping workshop. Students from diverse fields like computer science, business and natural sciences develop tools designed to reshape how we learn.

A few highlights from the last two labs include:

Kanji Garden: An app that teaches Japanese through immersive, AI-generated stories and visuals instead of rote memorization.

SignFluent: A real-time American Sign Language learning tool that provides instant feedback on your form.

MuscleMemory: An on-the-go calisthenics training tool that uses AI camera tracking to provide instant audio feedback on your exercise form, helping prevent injuries.

Led by Dr. Edith Law, the Google Chair in the Future of Work and Learning, this partnership moves beyond theory, helping students co-create the very technology that will define the future of education and work.

See the projects in action and hear the students’ key insights:

The Futures Lab—a Google-funded partnership with the University of Waterloo—hosts intensive eight-week workshops where students build functional AI prototypes to reshape education, health, and skill-building. Led by Dr. Edith Law, these real-life tools focus heavily on user experience and real-time interactive feedback. [1, 2]

The latest cohort spotlighted several innovative, working prototypes: [1]

## 🌟 Featured AI Prototypes

* SignFluent: An interactive American Sign Language (ASL) learning assistant. It utilizes your camera to analyze your hand gestures and provides immediate, real-time feedback on your signing form. [1]

* Kanji Garden: A language-learning application that replaces traditional rote memorization. It leverages generative AI to create customized, highly immersive stories and visual context to help users naturally acquire Japanese characters. [1]

* MuscleMemory: A portable, on-the-go physical training assistant designed for calisthenics. It utilizes AI-powered camera tracking to evaluate your exercise stance and provides instant audio feedback to help correct posture and prevent physical injuries. [1]

## 💡 Core Mission of the Lab

Instead of keeping artificial intelligence purely theoretical, the [Futures Lab](https://uwfutureslab.ca/) connects students across computer science, business, and natural sciences to solve real-world UX challenges. The program ensures that cutting-edge generative AI models serve practical human needs rather than just technical novelty. [1, 2]

Would you like to know more about the underlying technology used to build these tools, or are you interested in how to apply for upcoming lab cohorts? [2]

[1] [https://blog.google](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/ai/university-waterloo-labs/)