Brailletech: intelligent technology for blind persons.

Turcoiu, Titi ; Rifa, Gavril-Ioan ; Mirea, Adrian 等

1. INTRODUCTION

Motto:

 "What I know and what I don't know ...
 Night, I know you eternal darkness
 Day, what are you light?
 Flowers, I feel your fragrance
 ...And only the velvet
 Birds, I only can hear you...

 Unknown poet, probably a blind man"

Why this paper about the problems of blind persons at the 20th DAAAM International Symposium? Because this is a Symposium for "Theory, Practice & Education" and according to the National Authority for People with Disabilities in Romania each year are born between 8.000 and 10.000 children with major sight deficiency and 3% to 4% of these are schoolchildren or students.

Nowadays, according to NAPD, in Romania live nearly 110.000 persons with major sight deficiency and they must be helped! More information you can find on: http://www.anph.ro/eng/.

For their education and training we use the Braille system, patented by Luis Braille, as the Braille code, and it is still being used today as it was in 1834 (Hampshire, 1981). Today, in virtually every language around the world, the Braille code is the standard form of writing and reading used by blind persons.

Sighted people take for granted the huge amount of information we get from graphics: diagrams, flowcharts, graphs, logos and pictures. All this many forms of graphic communication are all around us. Translating this information from graphics to tactile form makes it accessible for the visually impaired reader. This accessibility is always welcomed and it is even required by law. Nowadays, the high-tech computer-driven method produces tactile graphics that are detailed, exact replicas, quickly embossed, and feature in 3-dimensional graphics. The embosser we use is the Tiger Advantage embosser by ViewPlus Technologies. Pictures, maps or graphs are scanned into or created in Microsoft Word, modified to show the essential features of the graphic, and then converted to the Tiger font for embossing. Before producing graphics that have to be read by touch we first analyze the graphic. Is it necessary to convey the information it contains or is the graphic just "eye candy" or reinforcement for a text point? Could the information just as effectively be explained through a transcriber's note? What level of detail is required? What use will be made of the document? Who will use the document? What is the age and experience level of the anticipated reader? (Hamilton & Pascual-Leone, 1998). How many documents will you need to produce? What equipment and talent do you have available? (Burton et al., 2002). When should you turn to an outside contractor for this service? Many, many questions! But, we have one interesting answer: The Brailletech Intelligent Technology!

2. THE BRAILLETECH CONCEPT

The Brailletech Intelligent Technology (BIT) proposes the creation of new objects and methods of knowledge in the special psycho pedagogy field, designed for this particular special education.

This new technology proposes the achievement of Audio-Tactile products (AT), based on an original patented idea which is in essence, a set of books, folders, boards and tiflo-pedagogical spatial objects supplementary equipped with audio-tactile devices, with the purpose of generating and stimulating multi-sensorial processes of cognition, tactile and auditory for the persons with major sight deficiency especially for small children under school age and schoolchildren.

The innovating feature of AT products consists in generating sounds or sonorous proper messages of the letters, the words and the graphic signs in protrusive form from the Braille books, with finger palpation by the sightless persons.

The sonorous messages can be the shapes of the letters, the vocal expressions of words, of sentences, the sonorous explanations of these, sounds from the nature, music etc. In the case of spatial objects, mock-ups or moulds, the emission of audio messages shall be related by touching them or a significant part from them, for example in the case of the animals: the head, the body, the legs etc.

The sonorous messages are prerecorded and rendered of a tiny electronic device included in the pages of the folders, the boards or the AT book covers as well within the spatial AT objects.

The mounting is user-friendly; autonomously it doesn't need the connection to a PC or another external device and assures an audio specific quality of telephonic signal that offers the user information and audio color full of tonality, dynamics and personality.

For the singing books, dictionaries, encyclopedias or anywhere is enforced, it can be assured a superior quality of render of the sounds, these can be listened either way in headphones or not. The subjects, the contained chart, the audio comments, the way of representation in protrusive or spatial, as well as the tactile methods will be completed, on the base studies of new psychopedagogy methods of audio-tactile cognition, improved by the experts in the area of special psychology, preschool pedagogy and the specialists from various connected areas.

3. THE BRAILLETECH COMPONENTS

The Brailletech products have three distinct components:

--the electronic component, which studies and achieves the hardware and software solutions necessary for implementation of the audio-tactile process;

--the techno graphic wording and audio component of the specific contained Braille chart and the recording of the sonorous content;

--the psycho pedagogical component of the achievement of audio-tactile method of cognition is based on the utilization of the audio-tactile objects. This studies and recommends the content of these objects as well as the tackle forms for various subjects' categories, persons with major disability of sights. With these components by Brailletech technology we can achieve the following categories and types of Audio-Tactile (AT) objects:

--AT objects about the environment, dedicated to small children under school age and schoolchildren, such as boards or folders about animals, nature, household objects etc.

--Educational AT objects for the elementary and high school level children such as math, science, foreign languages books etc.

--AT objects for all sightless persons like encyclopedias, dictionaries, educational books, maps etc.

--Amusement AT objects, dedicated to all sightless persons such as story books, poetry books, song books, postcards etc.

--Public utility AT objects designed for persons with major sight disabilities like labels, instructions to use, elevator buttons etc. (Mirea, 2008)

4. THE ADVANTAGES OF AT PRODUCTS

The advantages of AT products achieved as part as Brailletech Technology are the following:

--Simultaneous multi-sensorial perception (audio and tactile) by joining audio messages generated characteristics with the tactile characteristics of the graphic signs in protrusive while palpation with the fingers is accomplished in the cognition process;

--The complexity of the transmitted information by the audio-tactile objects by instantaneous correlation of the tactile information of Braille signs, symbols and protrusive graphic with the transmitted sonorous information according to these;

--Easy management of AT products, due to the electronic mounting of identification and generation of the sonorous messages incorporated in the product achieved in COB(chip on board) ultra miniaturized technology powered by batteries which doesn't need auxiliary devices (computer);

--The large spectrum of application of audio-tactile products in the areas of cognition, education and entertainment of the persons with visual handicap;

--The assurance of self teaching of the persons with visual handicap, eliminating the necessity of the continuously presence of a helping person, who provide these explanations;

--High degree of reliable of the device, due to utilization in exclusively the solid state technology the incorporate circuits, without mechanical components in movement;

--The utilization of audio-tactile products by the children and the pupils with major disability of sights has an important effect in the acceleration of the process of social integration of these through the complex access to the cognition of the world and also by the reason of the surplus of information transmitted on sonorous path, correlated instantaneous with the tactile information;

--The common aspect of book, folder or board of the AT products and the simple handing of these, without having further special technical knowledge;

--Reduced cost-price (Turcoiu et al., 2009)

5. STATUS OF BRAILLETECH ACHIEVING

Actual status of achieving the AT objects is:

--The concept of achievement of the audio-tactile objects is finalized;

--There were tested some hardware achievement solution of the audio-tactile device;

--The Brailletech technology was presented to the Faculty of Special Psychology from the University of Bucharest. The idea was appreciated as being innovating and valuable due to the reason of assurance of stimulation in the multi-sensorial process of cognition, tactile and auditory and also because of the self teaching of the persons with major sight deficiency, major premises in the acceleration social integration process;

--A research program has been initiated at the Bucharest University and it was developed in common by a staff of professors of the Faculty of Special Psycho pedagogy and "Audio-Tactile Method and Technology of access to education and cognition for the persons with major sight disabilities";

--It was deposited by Mr. Mirea Adrian(Mirea, 2008) at the Romanian State Office for Inventions and Trademarks an application of patent entitled "Audio-tactile device designed for education, cognition and knowledge for the persons with major sight disabilities";

--An application was deposited by Mirea Adrian for start-up UE finance of achieving AT objects prototype, as first step of Brailletech major products.

6. CONCLUSION

The persons, especially the children with major sigh deficiency, have equal rights in the special educational process.

The AT products, proposed by Brailletech Intelligent Technology, has a major social impact in families or social groups. By this technology, the children with major disability of sights has a great possibility to acceleration of their process of social integration in the society.

The Brailletech AT products to stimulate the self-education of the persons with major sight deficiency, offers their independence and these are not a expenses products .

7. REFERENCES

Burton, H. et al. (2002). Adaptive changes in early and late blind, Journal of Neurophysiology, 88/6, 2002

Hamilton, R. & Pascual-Leone, A. (1998). Cortical plasticity associated with Braille learning. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2/5,1998

Hampshire, B. (1981). Working with Braille, Unesco Program, Paris, 1981

Mirea, A. (2008). Audio-tactile objects and method of access at knowledge and education for the persons with major sight deficiency. Romanian NRTM form no. A/00396/28th, May 2008, Bucharest, Romania

Turcoiu, T.; Stanasila, O. & Mirea, A. (2009). Innovative Ideas in the Technological and Business Incubator of University "POLITEHNICA"of Bucharestiroceedings of ICEIRD2009 Ketikidis, P. et al. (Ed.), pp.291-297, ISBN 978-960-89629-9-6, Thessaloniki, Greece, 24-25 April, 2009, City Sheffield Thessaloniki, Greece

*** (2009) http://www.anph.ro/eng/-The National Authority for People with Disabilities, Accessed on: 2009-04-15