Texture-based Illustration for Braille E-book Reader
-
Upload
mili-eugine -
Category
Documents
-
view
222 -
download
0
description
Transcript of Texture-based Illustration for Braille E-book Reader
TEXTURE – BASED ILLUSTRATION
FOR BRAILLE EBOOK READER
- Mili Eugine
PDP 301 DE
ABSTRACT
For my course project, I have decided to attempt to improve an EBook Reader for the blind,
known commonly as the Braille EBook. The existing design of the EBook consists of a
tablet (much like an iPad) which contains plastic pegs that eject out of the interface’s screen,
portraying Braille characters. Other designs are centered around piezoelectricity, which uses
electricity generated by pressure, or electroactive polymers, which are materials that change
shape when brought into contact with electricity. I would like to add to this device one more
feature – that of illustration, combined with the feeling of texture. Unlike existing Braille
illustrations, however, my idea proposes to use sketches and paintings in relief, using the
same interface.
I have chosen to investigate this field of interaction as I am a person who loves to read. I
could never compromise reading for an audio book, and as research shows, there are many
visually impaired people who share the same ideology. My research for my semester project,
Storybook Labs, has also helped me realize the importance of reading, especially for children,
and I could not imagine denying anyone the opportunity to embark on this great adventure.
The design would explore haptic technology which would provide tactile feedback to the end
user. Hypothetically, it should allow a visually disabled child to “see” illustrations on a book,
by feeling the relief and projections created by the interface, along with also feeling the
texture of each picture. For example, in a book about dogs, the child would feel the fur of
different breeds of dogs, or a book on materials would cover steel, cotton, wool etc.
PREVIOUS RESEARCH
There have already been many design concepts and prototypes for the design of a Braille
EBook, although none have ventured into the concept of illustration yet. One of the recent
endeavours was that made by the four member team including Seon-Keun Park, Byung-Min
Woo, Sun-Hye Woo and Jin-Sun Park in 2009. The team proposed an EBook that worked not
on plastic pegs, but using electoactive polymers, which when charged through electricity, can
change the shape of parts of the screen. Thus, Braille letters were portrayed on the screen.
Another team from the University of Illinois, which consisted of Nick Rosenwinkel, Heajin
Hur and Sungjin Park, designed a Braille EBook reader in the fall of 2011. They used plastic
kegs in their device, as well as an antenna and signal processing circuit that would allow
users to download books. A microcontroller was programmed for users to read the titles of
the books from memory and display them one at a time so they can search through and select
books. It also gave audio alerts when a download was complete and when the battery was
running low.
DESIGN PROPOSAL
Haptic Technology
The term Haptic is derived from the Greek "haptesthai," meaning to touch. Haptic is the
science and physiology of the sense of touch. It explores tactile feedback and produces
responses based on the sense of touch. One of the earliest uses of this technology was in
aircraft simulations. It is also used in video games, the simplest of which produces vibrations
during a car crash game.
Electroactive Polymers
A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. Electroactive
polymers are polymers that exhibit a change in size or shape when stimulated by an electric
field. These polymers were used for “refreshable Braille displays”, which uses an EAP
(ElectroActive Polymer) actuator arranged in an array form. Rows of electrodes on one side
of an EAP film and columns on the other activate individual elements in the array. Each
element is mounted with a Braille dot and is lowered by applying a voltage across the
thickness of the selected element, causing local thickness reduction. Under computer control,
dots would be activated to create tactile patterns of highs and lows representing the
information to be read.
Electrovibration
Vibrations used by mobile phones are produced by mechanical actuators. Electrovibration is
an alternative method to this form of tactile feedback, as it does not vibrate using mechanical
actuators, but by controlling electrostatic friction between an instrumented touch surface and
the user’s fingers. This electrovibration actually deforms the skin of the user’s fingers to
stimulate the feel of friction, which in turn gives the user a more realistic interpretation of the
virtual material. Unlike other forms of touch technology, electrovibration does not require
intermediate elements, but creates the tactile sensation by directly actuating the fingers. This
technology uses a transparent electrode, placed over a glass plate coated by an insulator, on
which the fingers move. The transparent electrode is excited with a periodic electrical signal
V(t) applied to connectors. When an input signal of sufficient amplitude is provided, an
electrically induced attractive force fe develops between a sliding finger and the underlying
electrode, increasing the dynamic friction fr between the finger and the panel surface. Because
the amplitude of fe varies with the signal amplitude, changes in friction fr will also be
periodic, resulting in periodic skin deformations as the finger slides on the panel. These
deformations are perceived as vibration or friction and can be controlled by modulating the
amplitude and frequency of the applied signal. However, only fingers in motion perceive this
effect. The lower the frequency applied to the stimuli, the rougher it is perceived. Therefore,
smooth interfaces, like silk would require high frequencies. Companies such as TeslaTouch
and Senseg use this technology.
Braille EBook Design
My Braille EBook aims to use a combination of these technologies. It will use EAPs
(ElectroActive Polymers) for the Braille display. The EAP actuator is arranged in an array
form. Electrodes on rows and columns on either side of the EAP film activate individual
elements in the tray. Each element is mounted with a Braille dot, which is lowered by
applying voltage to it, which causes thickness reduction. Using computer software, a series of
highs and lows would be created in order to write out the complete text in Braille.
The EBook will use the same function of the EAPs for illustration. Using the individual
elements mounted with Braille dots, it will pass voltage to a combined set of elements close
to each other, to create a protruding outline of the illustration. Thus, if a plank of wood were
to be displayed, the outline of the plank would be projected in relief on the EBook, thus
allowing the visually challenged person to trace the shape of the plank using his fingers, by
merely following the highs and lows created by the EAPs.
The illustration will also contain another feature – texture. This will use the electrovibration
technology. The main screen of the EBook will have a stretchable, transparent electrode sheet
placed over it. When the EAP actuators provide the protruding outline of the illustration, say,
the plank, a low frequency will be passed to the electrode sheet, which will deform the skin
on the user’s moving fingers, causing the user to feel the hard, rough texture of the wooden
plank, thus, essentially, allowing him to “see” it.
Block Diagram
Power Supply
Haptic Sensor
Main Controller
Braille Interface
Electrode Sheet
Memory Wireless Receiver
Conclusion
The new design proposal for the Braille EBook provides visually challenged individuals with
a new form of reading and private entertainment that has been denied them over the years. As
Tiri, a 12-year old, partially sighted girl in the United Kingdom mentioned, blind people felt
more “normal” when they could sit with an EBook in their hand and quietly read through it;
they “just wanted to do what other people could do”. With this EBook, they do not require
the use of a monotonous, robotic voice to read stories out to them, but can enjoy books in
private. With this is the added advantage of illustration as well, which aids their imagination
in producing images and scenes of the story. The addition of texture also will allow them to
explore the illustrations more clearly. This is especially true for young readers of Braille, to
teach them the language through a haptic medium, as well as to bring awareness to them
about the world at large. Tiri ends by saying, “[Reading] is something everyone should be
able to do”.
Bibliography
http://www.andalux.com/braillebook/
http://chrisharrison.net/projects/teslatouch/teslatouchUIST2010.pdf
http://courses.engr.illinois.edu/ece445/projects/spring2012/project10_proposal.pdf
http://courses.engr.illinois.edu/ece445/projects/fall2011/project19_proposal.pdf
http://du2012-grp04-03.blogspot.in/search?updated-max=2012-05-02T12:16:00-07:00&max-
results=7
http://www.etsy.com/listing/54263506/succulent-house-braille-illustration
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/everyday-tech/haptic-technology1.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refreshable_Braille_display
http://gizmodo.com/5219669/braille-e+reader-concept-raises-dots-with-e+ink
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/mar/07/ipad-3-touch-senseg-haptic
http://www.impactlab.net/2009/04/20/braille-e-book-concept/
http://mobile.engadget.com/2006/07/03/braille-via-sms-samsungs-touch-messenger/
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?s=6f09cb0d7bd9e2600ed4dd05baaf044c&t=
45265
http://news.discovery.com/tech/blind-portrait-photos-tactile-tech-110216.html
http://patents.justia.com/1985/04517660.html
http://www.prior-ip.com/application/7934270/
http://regator.com/p/180335015/braille_e-reader_concept_raises_dots_with_e-ink_concepts/
http://www.slashgear.com/senseg-haptic-feedback-system-creates-virtual-textures-0148400/
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/421191/a-touch-screen-with-texture/
http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?CC=EP&NR=0390611&KC=&FT=E&locale
=en_EP
http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?CC=EP&NR=0337401&KC=&FT=E&locale
=en_EP
http://www.yankodesign.com/2009/04/17/braille-e-book/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQjG1Wyr8Uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss-Fux86doQ&feature=fvwrel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss-Fux86doQ&feature=fvwrel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16krEX-4UJ4