SBIR Phase I: A Wearable, Independent, Braille-Assistive Learning Device

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛/商业影响是建立一个独立的。盲人盲文辅助学习器。阅读盲文的能力与提高独立性和生活质量密切相关。据估计，70%的盲人失业，但在识字的盲人中，只有10%失业。盲文扫盲危机-今天只有8.5%的美国盲人可以阅读盲文，而20世纪60年代为50%。理论上有几个因素导致了盲文文盲的增加，包括：1）缺乏有资格教授盲文的教师，2）对盲文学习的困难和成本持负面看法，以及3）盲人学生难以融入主流学校，因为这些学校没有针对这一人群的专门资源。该项目的成果将帮助所有年龄段的学生学习如何阅读盲文，包括在晚年失明的盲文中学学习者。该技术旨在抑制盲文识字危机，使盲人能够获得与视力正常的同龄人相同的机会，包括更好的高中和大学毕业机会、就业机会和高度独立水平。该项目的智力价值在于开发一种可穿戴的、基于计算机视觉的实时盲文到语音学习设备。虽然该项目的主要使命是通过盲文识字来释放盲人的全部潜力，但该技术的总体目标是通过计算机辅助增强线索来释放人类触摸的全部潜力，以应对复杂的纹理模式。所提出的技术将以非接触方式检测这种模式，保持材料的完整性，并实时提供听觉反馈，以允许机械传感器增强反馈。该项目的重点是通过以下方式确定这种方法的技术可行性：1）确定是否可以使设备和解释算法对环境和用户姿势变化鲁棒，2）开发在纹理化和/或图案化表面上良好执行的能力，和3）进行可用性测试，以确定用户体验的领域，这些领域必须在未来得到增强，才能在市场上与两个重要的利益相关者一起生存-盲文教师和盲文学生。这些目标如果成功实现，不仅会对盲文学习者产生影响，还将为这项技术开辟其他市场应用，如制造业和医药业。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is in creating an independent. assistive Braille learning device for blind people. The ability to read Braille is highly correlated with improved independence and quality of life. An estimated 70% of the blind are unemployed yet, of that subpopulation that is Braille literate, only 10% are unemployed. There is a Braille literacy crisis - only 8.5% of the blind population in the US can read Braille today, compared to 50% in the 1960s. There are several factors theorized to contribute to increasing Braille illiteracy including: 1) a shortage of teachers qualified to teach Braille, 2) negative outlooks on the difficulty and cost of Braille learning, and 3) and difficulties integrating blind students into mainstream schools that don’t have the specialized resources for this population. The results of this project will assist students of all ages in learning how to read Braille, including secondary Braille learners who become blind later in life. Aiming at inhibiting the Braille literacy crisis, the technology enables the blind to be given the same opportunities as their sighted peers, including better chances at graduating from high school and college, obtaining employment, and having high independence levels.The intellectual merit of this project is in development of a wearable, computer vision-based, real-time Braille-to-speech learning device. While the primary mission of the project is to unlock the full potential of blind individuals through Braille literacy, the overall goal for the technology is to unlock the full potential of human touch with computer-assisted augmentation cues in response to intricate textural patterns. The proposed technology will detect such patterns in a contactless approach, preserving the integrity of the material, and provide auditory feedback in real-time to allow for mechanosensory-augmented feedback. This project focuses on establishing the technical feasibility of such an approach by: 1) determining if the device and interpreting algorithms can be made robust to environmental and user postural variations, 2) developing capabilities to perform well on textured and/or patterned surfaces, and 3) conducting usability testing to identify areas of the user experience that must be enhanced in the future to be viable in the market with two vital stakeholders - Braille tutors and Braille students. These goals, if completed successfully, will not only impact Braille learners but also open up other market applications for this technology such as manufacturing and medicine.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.