Finger Braille is one of the communication media of deafblind people. In one-handed Finger Braille, a sender dots the left part of the Braille code on the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joints of the index, middle and ring fingers of a receiver, and subsequently dots the right part of the Braille code on the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints of the same fingers. Because there is a small number of non-disabled people who are skilled in Finger Braille, deafblind people communicate in this medium only through an interpreter. In this study, we developed a Finger Braille recognition system using small piezoelectric accelerometers worn by the receiver. We first conducted a measurement experiment to derive algorithms for the recognition of the dotted fingers and positions. The results showed that the accuracy of the recognition of dotted fingers was 92.9%, and the recognition system was independent of the dotted strength, dotted position and receiver. The accuracy of the recognition of dotted positions was 81.9%, and the recognition system could recognize dotted positions if the receiver's hand formed a natural longitudinal arch on the desk. Next, an evaluation experiment was carried out. The results showed that the accuracy of the recognition of dotted fingers by dotting was 89.7%, and the accuracy of recognition of dotted positions by dotting was 92.3%. Therefore, the recognition system could recognize sentences accurately when the interpreter dotted clearly.

Keywords

Finger Braille, Deafblind, Recognition System, Communication Aid, Accelerometer, Shock Acceleration, Recognition of Dotted Fingers, Recognition of Dotted Positions

Paper information

Yasuhiro MATSUDA, Ichiro SAKUMA, Yasuhiko JIMBO, Etsuko KOBAYASHI, Tatsuhiko ARAFUNE and Tsuneshi ISOMURA, “Development of Finger Braille Recognition System”, Journal of Biomechanical Science and Engineering, Vol. 5, No. 1 (2010), pp.54-65 . doi:10.1299/jbse.5.54