Hieroglyph Sketch: the tool of a Scribe!
Hieroglyph Sketch is a unique solution to a perennial problem for aspiring Egyptologists. Ease your reading of Egyptian Hieroglyphs!
The first hurdle in interpreting ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs and their inscriptions is identifying and entering each individual glyph. There are over seven thousand unique glyphs, of which over 500 are frequently seen in temple carvings and tombs. Memorizing and identifying all these images can be a challenge, even for people with years of experience, but really difficult for those just starting out.
Hieroglyph Sketch takes a novel approach to simplifying hieroglyphs:
- Take or import a photo of a hieroglyphic inscription
- Use the App to center and enlarge a glyph you want to identify
- Trace the glyph on the screen with your finger (or Apple Pencil on an iPad)
- As you draw, the App will dynamically infer the best matches to what you have traced.
- As you add more detail, the App should refine its identification giving a handful of choices to pick from. In testing, the App has about 95% accuracy among different users. The AI is not always perfect, but usually very helpful. The “deep learning” AI works best on the top 500 most common glyphs. A complete set of 1072 Middle Kingdom glyphs plus over 1000 additional, later glyphs are available via manual entry mode.
- You can choose to add the selected glyph to a translation sequence. Add a few sequential glyphs from the inscription.
- Tap “Translate” The App has the largest, self-contained digital dictionary available of the Ancient Egyptian language.
On the Go and Off-line
Hieroglyphs Sketch is a totally self contained mobile solution. No cell phone, Wi-Fi, or other internet connection is required. No cumbersome “backend” server like Google’s Fabricius workbench which only works on desktop computers. Our app also uses an Artificial Intelligence engine, which we developed. This AI engine uses the advanced machine learning hardware and software that Apple builds into its iPhone and iPad devices.
Take pictures of glyphs in the field, in museums, or from books. Interpret them in real time, or later. Translate your inscriptions while recovering from a busy day of sightseeing while floating down the Nile. No need to pay the ridiculous satellite internet charges! For more advanced hieroglyph translations, check out our Hieroglyph Pro app here!
Extra Features
- 2,200 Glyphs available to scroll through and select via standard Gardiner Code in Manual Entry Mode
- Hieroglyph Sketch includes a “Practice” mode to develop and improve your tracing skills. Concentrate on outlines and interior lines, not fill for best results.
- AI tracing recognition works best on 500 most frequently seen glyphs of Middle Egyptian dialect(will be expanded in near future)
- AI recognition models are adjustable to improve matches when related glyphs (eg., Men or Birds) are very similar.
- Translation does not require knowing where words start in inscription
- Sound and haptic cues available
- iOS 15 compatible
- Dark mode enabled
Images of the Coffin of Nebetit and the False Door of Hepeti are © Copyright Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University. Used with permission. Additional images are © Copyright Aviametrix, LLC
The Deep Learning algorithm is very forgiving of hand-drawn tracings and usually recognizes “sketchy” sketches with very high accuracy. For example, the A24 sign (Man striking with Both Hands) 
was traced with three different styles and care and accuracy yet all are recognized:
Quality, careful tracing: 99% correct prediction of A24
Mid quality sketch: Identifies A24 with 99% probability
Quick sketch: still 99% probability of correct prediction
