Abstract:
Despite communication advances, visually impaired people have limited
access to these technologies. The objective of this research is to develop a
wearable, cost-effective, and user-friendly haptic communication device for
visually impaired people. Through Wi-Fi, a smartphone and a haptic
communication device are connected. The haptic device receives text
messages from the smartphone and turns the English text into braille. This
system includes vibration motors that vibrate in a predetermined pattern. By
using the vibration motors, they can easily read the message by sensing the
vibration. Those who have knowledge of English Braille can use it after a
simple training session. Also, blind people can type and send text messages
on a smart device using a special Braille keypad. This device has been tested
on 10 people. Each participant was presented with 10 random words on two
occasions, with a time delay of 500 ms and 1000 ms between two letters.
According to the test results, the average success rate for character recognition
is 82%. Further, the ideal time delay between two words was identified as
1000 ms. The Braille Oriented Message System (B-Chat) is a device similar
to a haptic communication device. Compared to B-Chat, the haptic
communication device is portable and offers the ability to exchange messages
with ordinary people. This can be offered in the market for less than 10,000
rupees. This haptic communication device for visually impaired people has
been designed and developed, and its use enables text message conversations.
