A COMMUNICATION AID FOR DEAF-BLIND PEOPLE USING VIBRATION MOTORS

This paper proposes a Braille type input/output device as a communicat ion aid for the deaf-blind. By means of this device, both input and ou tput operations can be handled in 6-point braille format. The input/ou tput unit of this device has a structure in which a vibration motor fo r the pager and a push-button switch are combined. Braille information can be input or presented using the same hand position. In presenting the Braille information, the palm sides of the forefinger, the middle finger, and the ring finger near the proximal and distal finger joint s are used, to allow for ease during the input operation. In order to determine the optimal position for presenting Braille information in t his device, an experiment was performed on single-point vibration stim ulation sensitivity as well as two-point simultaneous vibration stimul ation sensitivity. The experiment showed that the visually impaired su bjects were able to recognize Braille information with a recognition r ate of approximately 84%, after training for ten minutes. The input of Braille information was performed by a sighted subject, who could inp ut the information at a rate of approximately 36 character/min. after training for five hours. (C) 1998 Scripta Technica.