The Design and Development of a Multi-Lingual Braille System Output Device with Audio Enhancement

Michel J. Owayjan, Taimour Z. Wehbe, Elie Y. Bou Daher, Omran A. Ayoub

Department of Computer and Communications Engineering, American University of Science & Technology, Beirut, Lebanon.

DOI: 10.4236/jsea.2013.65036                

Abstract

Visually impaired people face difficulties in interacting and gaining full advantage of computers. Recently, and with the fast evolution in technology, researchers proposed to give the blinds the ability to take advantage of these advancements. Accordingly, designers and engineers started working on projects that relate input and output devices to the computers in order for the blind individual to have full control of the hi-tech machines. However, investments in these kinds of hardware presented complexity in the design, in addition to the high cost imposed by the devices used. The project’s objective is to design and develop a Multi-Lingual Braille System Output Device for the visually impaired individuals that enable them to access and read texts from a computer. The device acquires both English or Arabic texts and displays them using controlled piezoelectric Braille cells. It also has the ability to produce a sound that matches the displayed characters. The control of the cells is done via Programmable Interface Controller (PIC) microcontroller. The interaction between the device and the computer is done through the Universal Serial Bus (USB). C# is the language used to write the program responsible for controlling this interaction. The continuous development of such devices is essential for the visually impaired to keep up with the technological advancements. The main advantages of this system are its low cost, the added multi-lingual, and the audio features. In addition, many features can be added so as to satisfy the users’ needs, such as adding new languages and Grade 2 Braille System.

Keywords

Assistive Technologies; Braille Devices; Computer Peripheral Parts; Low-Vision Aiding Systems; Rehabilitation Engineering

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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