PRE2019 3 Group4

Group 4

Group member	Student number	E-mail	Study
Tom Janssen	1233021	t.j.a.janssen@student.tue.nl	Chemical Engineering and Chemistry
Ivo Kersten	1233717	i.p.c.kersten@student.tue.nl	Electrical Engineering
Sander van Bommel	1017917	s.p.h.a.v.bommel@student.tue.nl	Psychology & Technology
Tim Driessen	1006903	t.driessen@student.tue.nl	Software Science
Rob Vissers	1244863	r.t.w.a.vissers@student.tue.nl	Electrical Engineering

Introduction

In Europe only, there are already an estimated 30 million people that are either blind or visually impaired. Furthermore it is found that on average 1 in 30 Europeans experience sight loss. This imposes a huge challenge on the society in general, since these people cannot function as properly as intended in the complex society of today. Of all the blind or visually impaired people, 75% is rendered unemployed, while these people could possibly participate in certain jobs if they would receive the necessary education. Now a huge issue arises, since there is a lack of proper braille-teaching material available, which is holding the blind and visually impaired people back.

Also loss of sight can be linked to people getting older, whereas the retinitis pigmentosa deteriorates with increasing age. By looking at the European statistics, one in three seniors with an age over 65 years old struggles with visual impairment or even blindness. Due to these large numbers, it can be seen that the problem of visual impairment and blindness has to be tackled, such that these people can stay active in the society . Since these elderly people are not able to read anymore, they might want to adapt to learning braille to increase their independence.

Problem statement

According to the World Health organization , the estimated number of people that are suffering from visual impairment in the world is 285 million. These people experience difficulties with daily activities that require vision. Vision is considered as an extremely vital sensory modality in humans. The loss of vision affects the performance of almost all activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs); thereby hampering an individuals’ quality of life (QoL), general lifestyle, personal relationships and career . Due to these limitations, these people have a greater probability of experiencing social exclusion, depression and loneliness .

However due to increased knowledge and assistive technologies, there are many new applications and learning systems created to support visually impairment people with their daily activities and make life much easier. Braille learning is considered as one of the most well-known methods that is used to support the visually impaired with reading. In this method, visual impaired people are basically reading text with their fingers by identifying several patterns of raised bumps or dots. Even though it offers these people the opportunity to actually read a book, not many of these people use Braille. According to the National Federation of the Blind , only one in 10 blind people can read Braille, which is dramatically drown from the early 1900s. Furthermore a great proportion of blind children experience considerable difficulties learning to read braille and some never master the skill . Therefore they are more likely to lose interest in learning Braille and search for alternatives.

Even though the interest in Learning Braille had decreased over time, this does not mean that it is outdated or irrelevant. In fact, Braille represents information and education - the currency and the future – for blind people . By learning Braille, blind people will be capable to get access to relevant information, develop high-level skills in reading and writing. Therefore it should be understood, however the current methods of how Braille is taught, might be outdated. Assistive technology should open new ways for Braille to make it more interesting among visually impaired people and improving their well-being.

Objectives

The central objective of the project is:

Main objective: Realize a device that helps an inexperienced person to learn the basics of reading braille. The device will make the Braille literacy more accessible to visually impaired people and can be seen as the first introduction to the Braille language.

From this main objective, a number of smaller objectives can be deduced, namely:

Objective: A visually-impaired-user-friendly interface

As the target group is visually impaired, an interface will be developed that provides clear communication in both ways between user and device without requiring the ability to see.

Objective: Facilitate learning

A number of learning modes will be created that provides the user with a fun/interactive way of learning Braille. These learning modes will use inputs from the user in the form of pushing braille pins and/or outputs from the system by means of sound or moving braille pins.

Requirements

Overall system must:

• be able to be set up in less than a minute.
• be able to be activated by a blind person.
• be built with high contrast between colors of the box the system is in and the buttons.
• have functional buttons with clearly recognizable shapes to ease operation.
• be affordable to as many people as possible (preferably < €200).

Physical braille display must:

• be capable of correctly displaying all basic braille symbols: letters, numbers, and punctuation, one at a time.
• be able to be reset and rewritten in less than 0.5 seconds.
• provide enough force to each braille dot such that they can be read easily.

Physical braille input must:

• have braille dots that are easily pressed down with light force, and then kept in downward position.
• be able to be reset in less than 0.5 seconds.
• reliably capture presses (>99%).

Expected Impact

Currently about 10% of the blind people worldwide is actually able to read Braille. This means that 90% of these people is not capable or is not willing to learn Braille. However, our product is meant to increase this interest and provide a new type of Braille learning that is understandable, educational and interesting. If blind people would experience the benefits in terms of improvements in their daily life experience, then there is evidence found that our product actually has a positive effect on the experience of blind people and it can be implemented in a real-life setting. Therefore there is expected that a great number of this 90% blind people will regain interest in Braille and thereby also generate more interest in our product.

Our product also allows independent use, which means that a constant accompaniment is not necessary any longer. Blind people are capable to activate our product by themselves and can use it to learn Braille. In this way, caregivers of these blind people can spend their time to other individuals that actually need guidance with reading. This is not only less costly, but caregivers will also be able to work more efficiently. For this reason, cost-efficiency will be maintained. Furthermore it expected that engineers or developers of our product will experience a financial gain due to the increased demand on the market. If governments would acknowledge the benefits of the product as well, they can provide support to these developers/engineers in terms of scientific funds. Scientific funds will contribute to further development in research and knowledge of our product, which can lead to even new applications or breakthroughs.

Approach, Planning + Milestones & Deliverables

Approach

The different aspects of the approach can be subdivided into milestones. Consequently, these can be distributed over a planning that fits the time span of this project.

In order to obtain the optimal and most adequate results on the topic, several different methods can be used to obtain information:

• Literature research into the different aspects related to this topic:
• Collaboration with visually impaired people to incorporate the advice of the primary users.
• Development of a small prototype and applying a series of tests to check whether the device meets the previously set requirements.
• Comparative tests with current state-of-the-art devices to discover points of improvement, as well as points of superiority of our product.

Planning & Milestones

Below the global planning of this project is displayed.

Week	Tasks & milestones for the report	Tasks & milestones for the prototype
1	Choose the subject Write the start of the sections for the problem statement, objectives, users, requirements, approach, planning & milestones, deliverables, logbook Investigate and summarize current state-of-the-art techniques and devices on this topic
2	Continue writing on the different sections of the report Write the start of the sections for current state-of-the-art and our own research	Approximated design List of needed hardware components
3	Continue writing on the different sections of the report Gantt chart Manual Contact Visio or other instances Decide on focus project	Design SolidWorks Purchase hardware components Software concepts
4	Test plan Working out Hable interview	Developing software Creating prototype
5	Further work report	Developing software Creating prototype
6	Create questions/exercises for testing of week 7	Finishing software Finishing prototype
7	Create presentation Work out test results	Test prototype with visually impaired people
8	Presentation Finish report Work out test results	Incorporate feedback tests week 7 Bug fixing

Deliverables

• A small prototype of a device that helps an inexperienced user with learning braille.
• A report of all our literature research, analysis and results on this topic. This will be documented on this wiki page.
• A presentation at the end of this course to share our findings.

Gantt Chart

USE aspects

Users

When designing a product, it is important to keep the users (actively or passively) involved in the design process as soon as possible. Therefore it is important to take into account the values and needs of all involved users. With proper participation and empirical research, the design process can be centered around the user for the best final result. The users involved within the subject of learning braille can be categorized in primary and secondary users as described below.

Primary Users

The primary users are the people that will actively use the product, namely being the visually impaired and blind people that do not yet know the braille language. This is caused due to the lack of braille learning material that is generally available for consumers and organizations. By designing a system that teaches braille with one letter or one word at a time, with the help of a braille example or pronounced words, braille can be learnt by a much broader public. Since these visually impaired and blind people cannot get the necessary education they need from reading literature or browsing the internet, they will get a learning disadvantage. Therefore with a system that teaches the braille language, the independence of the users will grow. The independence of the user is an important aspect, since blind and visually impaired people strive for a certain amount of independence, which is lost due to their disability. With multiple levels of difficulty, this braille-teaching device can be used by a widespread public, i.e. by children that are learning letters, or by adolescents that want to learn braille letters and words (including pronunciation).

Secondary Users

Regarding the secondary users, there are multiple organizations that would want to use a device to teach braille to people.

• At first, educational institutes, such as kindergartens, schools, and universities, would want to use the braille-teaching device to make learning braille for blind and visually impaired people more attractive at their institution. By showing that their needs are taken into account, the blind or visually impaired people will be triggered more to go to a certain institution that respects their disabilities. This will generally lead to an increased number of students at certain institutions. It will also help to reduce the workload that is imposed on the braille teachers at a certain institution.

• Secondly, non-profit organizations that want to help children with certain disabilities might adapt to this design. By investing in a braille-teaching device for children that cannot afford it, the literacy for these children will greatly increase. Since the main goal of these non-profit organizations is to help disabled children, this device would be a proper addition to their functional capabilities.

Society

In the society section the impact of the Braillearn will be assessed based on two important target groups, namely the companies and consumers. For both target groups the importance of the design phases sourcing, manufacturing, using, and end-of-life are described in detail.

Companies

• Sourcing phase: For companies it is important to not simply distribute a product on the market. It is important to gather enough empirical information and to work closely with the users of the product to incorporate possible feedback from these people. Thus with a design process centered around the users (being the blind and visually impaired), workers can create a product that takes into account the needs and values of this group. The design should also be made measureable to check whether the product will eventually suffice the needs of the blind and visually impaired people. By having measureable guidelines, it is more practical to check where the flaws of a product are present.
• Manufacturing phase: In the manufacturing phase it is important to create a low-cost product that takes into account all specifications of the design. With a new product on the market, a new team is needed to control the manufacturing process, which in turn creates jobs. Most of the research has already been done in the sourcing phase, but component-wise the manufacturing phase is important to be able to create a reliable product for a proper price. With pre-established target prices, weights, functionalities, dimensions, etcetera, it is possible to create an appealing product that satisfies the consumers. However at first it is important to test a crude prototype to simply check the functionalities of a design. For this a test group is needed that will assess the product based on questionnaires about and interactions with the product.
• Using phase: From the using phase feedback will be given back to the designers of the product to refine their design. Since the sourcing phase is already centered around the user, mostly practicalities will come to light to increase the ease of use of the product. This feedback will be incorporated by a design team and the product will be improved for the future.
• End-of-life phase: In this phase, jobs are created for the handling of the lifespan of the product coming to an end. All the components will have to be disposed in an environmental friendly way or they might be re-used. It is important to establish a team of engineers that can assess the quality of components and to check whether it might be re-used in the process.

Consumers

• Sourcing phase: In the sourcing phase the consumers will have the need for a product, which is a device that can teach braille. This will decrease the need for a long trajectory of one-on-one lessons with the lack of braille teachers. Consumers will work closely with the workers to ensure that their needs and values are taken into account in the sourcing phase, and their feedback will be implemented to create a product that appeals to the consumers.
• Manufacturing phase: Consumers and stakeholders will have to invest money in a start-up company to ensure that the manufacturing process will run as smooth as possible. With pre-orders placed on the product, there will be a budget available for the workers to create the product in practice.
• Using phase: The using phase is most important to the consumers. The main societal impact will be from people that are able to learn braille through the process of using the Braillearn. As mentioned earlier it is estimated that 285 million people are either blind or suffering from visual impairment, whereas only an estimated 10% of these people can read braille. If at least a part of this group would be able to learn braille, this would increase their overall independence and it would lead to more chances on the job market.
• End-of-life phase: To recycle parts of the Braillearn, it could be possible to make certain recycling posts that are handled by a small team of engineers. Recycling products is important to decrease the amount of new components being made and therefore to prevent extra pollution.

Overall it can be seen that mostly the societal impact comes from the fact that more blind or visually impaired people are able to learn the braille language, increasing their independence and educational level. Another impact on society is that jobs will be created for the design, manufacturing, and recycling process, which will boost the economy.

Enterprise

Looking at the enterprise aspects there are two main stakeholders, which are respectively the manufacturer of the Braillearn and educational institutes.

• Manufacturer of the Braillearn: The Braillearn will have to be manufactured to be as low-cost, but reliable, as possible such that it can be adapted by a large portion of the blind or visually impaired people. With the total cost of the components being €145,33 and an estimated production cost of €20,00 per Braillearn, the total cost of the system would be €165,33. If it were to be introduced on the market the rule of thumb for good profit is considered to be 20% on top of the purchase price, which would mean that the Braillearn would cost €194,80 which is much lower than all other existing products on the market. When the price of a product is low and the product satisfies the needs of the users, the Braillearn would become the standard on the market for people willing to learn the braille language and could be sold in bulk, reducing the price even further.
• Educational institutes: If educational institutes were to adapt to the Braillearn, a lot of profit can be obtained from new students willing to learn braille. There would still be a need for skilled braille teachers, but they would infer a more passive role in the process of learning braille. This would be in the form of psychological help and encouragement. Also if a student cannot get the results it wants, they can choose for face-to-face braille training with a braille teacher.

State of the art: Existing Devices

Looking at the State-of-the-Art regarding devices made for learning devices we have come across a number of products. Looking at these products we can see how they work, what are the advantages and disadvantages and therefore be able to find a place to fit our concept.

LEGO Braille Bricks

Recently LEGO unveiled a new project aiming to help blind and visually impaired children to learn Braille. The Braille bricks are similar to the common 2x4 blocks, except they don’t have eight “studs”, but use a 2x3 array of studs to represent a braille cell. At the bottom of the brick there is room for a visual indicator of the letter or symbol for the supervisors. The LEGO Braille bricks should fully launch in 2020.

LEGO Braille Bricks

The combination of LEGO and Braille looks like a perfect match. Each original LEGO block already contains “studs”, and more importantly LEGOs is meant to be a toy for children. Children associate pleasant thoughts with the bricks. Introducing the Braille language here is a perfect way to make learning fun. Because of the freedom of placement people have with LEGOs, sentences and words can be easily constructed using the braille blocks. An obvious disadvantage is the need for a supervisor. As stated in