DBillScan: A Camera Phone Based Currency Reader for the Visually Impaired

描述(由申请人提供)：对于这款SBIR激光成像，LLC与约翰·霍普金斯大学威尔默眼科研究所的眼科研究人员合作开发了DBillScan，这是一款基于照相手机的货币阅读器，可以为盲人和视障人士识别美元钞票(VI)。在许多国家，纸币印在不同大小的纸上，或者印有不同的触觉火星，供视力障碍者触摸和识别。然而，美元钞票上没有提供这些功能。尽管存在诸如插入式纸币阅读器甚至基于照相手机的解决方案之类的货币阅读产品，但用户要么需要额外的设备，要么设备不便于携带，要么使用起来很慢，要么对盲人来说不友好。我们建议开发一种解决方案，使盲人用户能够识别低成本、轻便和便携的纸币。DBillScan是创新和独特的，因为我们的移动软件可以在扫描模式下阅读钞票，即使部分钞票是看不见的。具体地说，它可以提供以下内容：1)盲人和视力受损社区操作的便利性和易用性2)具有重量轻且电池/充电寿命合理的算法3)读取一美元钞票并在不到10秒内确定其面额4)提供不超过百分之一的误读率5)允许升级未来的货币设计6)具有能够在广泛的物理条件下读取当前流通货币的健壮设计7)在广泛的移动设备平台中使用 与公共健康相关：在许多国家，货币印在不同大小的纸张上，或者印有不同触觉的火星，供视力障碍者触摸和识别。然而，这些特征在美元纸币上没有提供，不同面值的纸币只能在视觉上区分，因此盲人社区提起了针对美国财政部的法律诉讼，联邦上诉法院裁定“美国财政部歧视，因为它未能设计和发行容易被盲人区分的纸币”。考虑到诉讼最终可能会通过要求改变雕刻和印刷程序来解决问题，我们建议制定一种即时解决方案，使盲人用户能够识别低成本、轻便和可携带的钞票。尽管存在诸如插入式纸币阅读器甚至基于照相手机的解决方案之类的货币阅读产品，但用户要么需要额外的设备，要么设备不便于携带，要么使用起来很慢，要么对盲人来说不友好。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): For this SBIR Limaging, LLC teams with researchers in Ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University to develop DBillScan, a camera phone based currency reader to identify U.S. dollar bills for the blind and visual impaired (VI). In many countries the currency is printed on different sizes of paper or with different tactile mars for people with visual disabilities to touch and recognize. However, these features are not provided in U.S. dollar bills. Although currency reading products such as slide-in note readers or even camera phone based solution exist, the user either needs extra devices, the devices are not portable, they are slow to use, or are not user-friendly for the person who is blind. We propose to develop a solution that empowers the blind user to identify bills with a low cost, lightweight and portable currency. The DBillScan is innovative and unique because our mobile software can read a bill in scanning mode even when parts of the bill are invisible. Specifically, it can provide the following: 1) convenience and ease of use for the blind and vision-impaired community to operate 2) feature an algorithm that will be light weight with a reasonable battery/charge life 3) read a dollar bill and determine its denomination in less than ten seconds 4) provide a misread rate no greater than one in a hundred 5) allows for upgrades of future currency designs 6) have a robust design that can read current, circulating currency in a wide range of physical conditions 7) be used in a wide platform of mobile devices PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: In many countries the currency is printed on different sizes of paper or with different tactile mars for people with visual disabilities to touch and recognize. However, these features are not provided in U.S. dollar bills, and notes with different face values can only be distinguished visually For this reason the blind community initiated a law suit against the U.S. Treasury Department, and the federal appeals court ruled "The U.S. Treasury Department discriminates because it has failed to design and issue paper currency that is readily distinguishable by people who are blind". Acknowledging that litigation may eventually resolve the situation by requiring changes in the engraving and printing process, we propose to develop an immediate solution that empowers the blind user to identify bills with a low cost, lightweight and portable currency. Although currency reading products such as slide-in note readers or even camera phone based solution exist, the user either needs extra devices, the devices are not portable, they are slow to use, or are not user-friendly for the person who is blind.