Sadao Hasegawa

Helen Keller Phone—a communication system for deaf-blind people using Body-Braille and Skype

We introduce and demonstrate the “Helen Keller Phone” system, which enables deaf-blind people to communicate with each other without any support person and talk over the telephone for free with Skype. All communication is done via Body-Braille and is analogous to audio chat communication by non-disabled people. Real-time conversation using Braille instead of audio signals is possible and would dramatically improve deaf-blind peoples quality of life. The Body-Braille system, which presents one Braille cell using six micro vibrators, has been introduced twice in previous CCNCs. This time we will present newly developed equipment which is very small and portable and includes a new presentation method for Braille cells using only two vibrators, called the “two point system”. This new equipment makes portable use possible. We will demonstrate Braille-based communication through Skype, where one user is at home, the other is on the road.

Introduction of a wireless Body-Braille device and a self-learning system

Body-Braille is a mechanism for presenting one Braille cell using micro-vibrators on any part of the body. One application of Body-Braille is the Helen Keller Phone system which is a communication system for deaf-blind people. It is currently in the commercial stage. Since it is expected that users of Body-Braille will increase in number, a self-learning system for Body-Braille is required. Moreover, such a self-learning system must be easy for deaf-blind users to use. In this paper, we describe a wireless device which we have developed for this purpose and details of a self-learning system for Body-Braille. In order to test the system, we performed an experiment in which 14 subjects recognized Body-braille patterns in the first stage of self-learning. The recognition rate was 74.1%. However, post-experiment interviews revealed a keystroke issue that if corrected, would yield a 92.0% recognition rate.

A New Game Device Using Body-Braille for Visually Impaired People

During the last five years, we have been developing the Body-Braille system which uses 6 vibration motors corresponding to the units of Braille. Disabled people can wear this system and sense Braille characters by vibration patterns on any part of the body. We have performed several experiments in which disabled people could get needed support for daily life through Body-Braille. Since we are developing a new type of equipment, we chose to make one of its main applications a game. Our new equipment is so small that it is very easy to carry it anywhere, such as on a train. Disabled people can play a game using the equipment while traveling around. The software of the game application employs a table based structure so that anyone can create a new game application with very little programming work. As a result, we have successfully developed the software for game creation.

IPPITSU: A one-stroke text entry method for touch panels using Braille system

In this paper the authors propose IPPITSU, an eyes-free, Braille-based text entry method for touch panels. In IPPITSU the user inputs a Braille cell by selecting the raised dot in it. In order to select the dots the user touches the regions corresponding to the raised dots by sliding the finger on the panel with one continuous stroke. IPPITSU is expected to be used by visually-impaired people. IPPITSU is implemented as an IME for Android devices and is available on Google Play.

Introduction of new body-braille devices and applications

In this paper, two new Body-Braille devices are described. After the Body-Braille system and its current development status is explained, first, a new device for Braille-based real-time communication over internet (via Skype) is introduced and second, a new device for autonomous learning, which adopts wireless communication, is explained. The former is already developed and being used in the field test stage; the latter one is being developed now.