SBIR Phase I: A Wearable, Independent, Braille-Assistive Learning Device

SBIR 第一阶段：可穿戴、独立、盲文辅助学习设备

• 批准号: 2236574
• 负责人: Kushagra Jain
• 金额: $ 27.5万
• 依托单位: BRAILLEWEAR
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-04-01 至 2024-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2236574&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Wearable; Independent; Braille

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is in creating an independent. assistive Braille learning device for blind people. The ability to read Braille is highly correlated with improved independence and quality of life. An estimated 70% of the blind are unemployed yet, of that subpopulation that is Braille literate, only 10% are unemployed. There is a Braille literacy crisis - only 8.5% of the blind population in the US can read Braille today, compared to 50% in the 1960s. There are several factors theorized to contribute to increasing Braille illiteracy including: 1) a shortage of teachers qualified to teach Braille, 2) negative outlooks on the difficulty and cost of Braille learning, and 3) and difficulties integrating blind students into mainstream schools that don’t have the specialized resources for this population. The results of this project will assist students of all ages in learning how to read Braille, including secondary Braille learners who become blind later in life. Aiming at inhibiting the Braille literacy crisis, the technology enables the blind to be given the same opportunities as their sighted peers, including better chances at graduating from high school and college, obtaining employment, and having high independence levels.The intellectual merit of this project is in development of a wearable, computer vision-based, real-time Braille-to-speech learning device. While the primary mission of the project is to unlock the full potential of blind individuals through Braille literacy, the overall goal for the technology is to unlock the full potential of human touch with computer-assisted augmentation cues in response to intricate textural patterns. The proposed technology will detect such patterns in a contactless approach, preserving the integrity of the material, and provide auditory feedback in real-time to allow for mechanosensory-augmented feedback. This project focuses on establishing the technical feasibility of such an approach by: 1) determining if the device and interpreting algorithms can be made robust to environmental and user postural variations, 2) developing capabilities to perform well on textured and/or patterned surfaces, and 3) conducting usability testing to identify areas of the user experience that must be enhanced in the future to be viable in the market with two vital stakeholders - Braille tutors and Braille students. These goals, if completed successfully, will not only impact Braille learners but also open up other market applications for this technology such as manufacturing and medicine.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）I阶段项目的更广泛/商业影响在于创建独立。盲人的辅助盲文学习设备。阅读盲文的能力与改善的独立性和生活质量高度相关。据估计，盲人的70％是失业的，在盲文识字的亚群中，只有10％失业。存在盲文识字危机 - 今天美国只有8.5％的盲人人口可以阅读盲文，而1960年代为50％。理论上有几个因素有助于提高盲文文盲，包括：1）缺乏有资格教盲文的教师，2）对盲文学习的困难和成本的负面看法，以及3）以及将盲人学生整合到主流学校中，这些学校没有专门的资源。该项目的结果将帮助各个年龄段的学生学习如何阅读盲文，包括次要的盲文学习者，这些学习者在以后成为盲人。该技术旨在抑制盲文扫盲危机，使盲人能够获得与视力的同龄人相同的机会，包括从高中和大学毕业，获得就业机会以及具有很高的独立性水平的机会。该项目的智力优点是开发可穿戴的，计算机远见的，实时的，实时的，实时的，实时的，实时的brailes-spech学习设备。虽然该项目的主要任务是通过盲文素养解开盲人的全部潜力，但该技术的总体目标是通过计算机辅助的增强提示来解开人类触摸的全部潜力，以响应复杂的质地模式。所提出的技术将以非接触式方法来检测此类模式，保留材料的完整性，并实时提供听觉反馈，以允许机制提高反馈。该项目的重点是通过以下方式确定这种方法的技术可行性：1）确定设备和解释算法是否可以使环境和用户的姿势变化具有鲁棒性，2）开发能力，以在纹理和/或模式的表面上表现良好，以及3）在未来的实现中，在未来的实现方面可以增强bra的能力 - 可以在未来的用户体验中增强，以使其有效地构成，以使其有效地构成可靠的市场，以使其有效地构成。盲文学生。这些目标，如果成功完成，不仅会影响盲文学习者，而且还将为该技术（例如制造业和医学）开放其他市场应用。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用该基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响来审查标准，认为通过评估的评估被认为是宝贵的支持。