Developing of Text Translation and Display Devices via Braille Module

Abstract

Most previous research on braille outputs has focused on the simplification and ease of use of electronic products for the visually impaired. A majority of the existing devices are connected to smart devices, with the aim of obtaining voice outputs or braille information. Instead of such a voice output-based device, this paper proposes a device that can actually print braille to ensure that visually impaired people can read documents. In particular, this study deals with the implementation of a display device and braille module for the purpose of text translation for the visually impaired. To this end, the Raspberry Pi camera module is used to store actual documents, instead of electronic documents. Images captured through this camera module are then stored in the device. Subsequently, characters are extracted from these captured images through the pytesseract library, and the extracted characters are converted to braille. The translated braille information is processed to output the correct information to the braille cell. The braille output device comprises 20 braille cells, based on which a user may receive 20 characters at a time. After the user understands the information from all 20 braille cells, the user receives information related to the next step through the next button. When the user presses the next button, the next word or line of characters is output. The proposed device is easily portable, and the miniaturized device is manufactured via 3D printing. Furthermore, the braille cells are designed to help users recognize the printed braille by hand, using the (Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) ABS resin material instead of rubber.