New Braille Sensor to Help Elderly People
Published: Jun 25, 2007
A researcher at the Japanese Tohoku University has developed a device that will help people with visual disabilities to learn Braille.
Mami Tanaka, an assistant professor at the Tohoku University graduate school, created this glove-like device that uses special fingertip sensors to read Braille. The sensors recognize the position of Braille dots and transmit the data to a computer by changing output voltage. The computer then deciphers the information as characters by comparing the data with pre-registered characters.
According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry of Japan, only one in 10 people with visual disability can read Braille. Tanaka’s new device that enables vocalizing of Braille will offer greater help for people with visual impairments as well as many elderly people, who have trouble learning Braille because of the small-sized characters.
The device was demonstrated at a lab in Tohoku University, Sendai, and holds great promise for the near future.
Source: Japan Times
