Electroactive Polymer Design Opens Door To 'Full Screen' Displays For The
Blind
Imagine if your computer only allowed you to see one line at a time, no
matter what you were doing - reading e-mail, looking at a Web site, doing
research. That's the challenge facing blind computer users today. But new
research from North Carolina State University is moving us closer to the
development of a display system that would allow the blind to take full
advantage of the Web and other computer applications. "Right now,
electronic
Braille displays typically only show one line of text at a time. And
they're
very expensive," says Dr. Neil Di Spigna, a research assistant professor
at
NC State and co-author of a paper describing the research. In order to
develop a more functional, and affordable, tool that would allow the blind
to interface with their computers, Di Spigna and his colleagues are
working
to develop a full-page, refreshable Braille display. Braille uses a series
of raised dots to represent letters and numbers, allowing blind people to
read.
The researchers have developed a concept called a "hydraulic and latching
mechanism," which would allow the development of a full-page, refreshable
Braille display system. Such a display would also translate images into
tactile displays, effectively mapping pixels in an image and allowing the
full-page Braille display to represent the images as raised dots.
The researchers have developed a concept called a "hydraulic and latching
mechanism," which would allow the development of such a display system.
The
mechanism would be made of an electroactive polymer that is very resilient
and inexpensive, when compared to current Braille display technologies.
"This material will allow us to raise dots to the correct height, so they
can be read," says Dr. Peichun Yang, a postdoctoral research associate at
NC
State and co-author of the paper. "Once the dots are raised, a latching
mechanism would support the weight being applied by a person's fingers as
the dots are read. The material also responds quickly, allowing a reader
to
scroll through a document or Web site quickly."
Earlier this month, the researchers presented their findings on the
hydraulic component of the mechanism, showing that it is a viable
technology. The next step is to demonstrate a proof-of-concept model of
the
latching mechanism. "We hope to have a fully functioning prototype of the
mechanism within a year," Di Spigna says, "and that could serve as the
functional building block of a full-screen refreshable display."
"Reading Braille is essential to allowing blind people to find
employment,"
says Yang, who is blind. "We're optimistic that this technology will give
the blind additional opportunities in this area."
"The last 20 years of computer technology have been relatively
inaccessible - and today's common mobile computing devices, from
smart-phones to digital navigators and iPads, have been completely
nonexistent - to blind people, because the display technology for the
blind
has not kept pace," says David Winick, a researcher at NC State and
co-author of the paper. "We hope to enable the development of applications
that will give the blind more complete access to the internet and other
computer resources, such as e-books."
The research, "The integration of novel EAP-based Braille cells for use in
a
refreshable tactile display," was presented March 8 at the 12th
International Conference on Electroactive Polymer Actuators And Devices in
San Diego. The work was funded by the National Institute of Disability and
Rehabilitation Research, which is part of the U.S. Department of
Education.
The work was co-authored by Di Spigna, Yang, Winick, Parthasarathi
Chakraborti, an NC State graduate student, Dr. Tushar Ghosh, a professor
of
textile engineering chemistry and science, and Dr. Paul Franzon, a
professor
of electrical and computer engineering.
NC State's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is part of
the
university's College of Engineering. NC State's Department of Textile
Engineering, Chemistry and Science is part of the university's College of
Engineering and its College of Textiles.
http://news.ncsu.edu/releases/wmsdispignabraille/
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