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

描述（由申请人提供）：SBIR Limaging， 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，开发了一种基于相机手机的货币读取器，用于为盲人和视障人士识别美元钞票。在许多国家，货币被印在不同大小的纸张上，或者有不同的触觉标志，以供视力障碍的人触摸和识别。然而，这些功能在美元钞票上是不具备的。虽然货币读取产品，如滑入式钞票读取器，甚至基于相机手机的解决方案已经存在，但用户要么需要额外的设备，这些设备不便携，使用速度慢，或者对盲人来说不方便使用。我们建议开发一种解决方案，使盲人用户能够识别成本低、重量轻、便携的钞票。该billscan是创新和独特的，因为我们的移动软件可以读取扫描模式下的账单，即使部分账单是不可见的。具体来说，它可以提供以下内容：1)盲人和视力受损群体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)在不到10秒的时间内读取一张美元钞票并确定其面额4)提供不大于百分之一的误读率5)允许未来货币设计的升级6)具有可读取电流的强大设计。流通货币可以在广泛的物理条件下流通7)可以在广泛的移动设备平台上使用

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.