Portable communication aid for deaf-blind people

The development of a portable communication aid, which allows deaf-blind pe ople to communicate with others without the help of an assistant, is review ed. The system comprises two major units: one for deaf-blind people and the other for sighted people. A deaf-blind person can send messages by typing on a Braille terminal and the messages will be converted to Mandarin phonet ic symbols, which are then displayed on an LCD display to be read by a sigh ted partner. Then the sighted partner can send messages back by typing on a simple keyboard and the messages will be displayed on a Braille display to be 'read' by the blind-deaf person. The aid has been designed to be effect ive, reliable and inexpensive. Some experimental results are reported to de monstrate the applicability of the aid.