Addis Ababa University

Addis Ababa Institute of Technology

School of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Final Year Thesis Paper

Smart braille reading and writing device

Prepared By:
CHALA TESFAYE (ATR/5601/05)
GETAMESAY BAYOU (ATR/5876/05)
DANIEL G/YOHANNES (ATR/3676/05)

Advisor:
Nebyu Yonas

Date of Submission: June 2017

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 Acknowledgment
First of all, we would like to acknowledge God, the source of all knowledge, for the success of this
project. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our advisors Ato Nebiyu Yonas for his
continuous advise, support and motivation. His guidance helped us achieve our set target. We
would also like acknowledge the group members for their experience we had and working together,
fun environment. And finally we would like to thank all the people who shared their necessary
skills for the success of the project.

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 Abstract
Visually impaired people face difficulties in interacting and gaining full advantage of computers
and technologies. Recently, and with the fast evolution in technology, researchers proposed to give
the blinds the ability to take advantage of these advancements. Accordingly, this paper introduces
a new communication channel for visually impaired people. This project introduces simple design
for a braille, comprising a design aims to produce a device that perform mild vibrations in six
finger of visual impaired person. It includes a two-way communication system that convert a
braille letter and characters into digitalized form (text file) and the reverse that converts a text into
a braille system using a six vibrator motor that represent braille dots which the blind person can
recognize. it also used a sound to assisted the visual impaired individual.

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Table of contents Page number
Abstract………………………………………………………………………….. ii
List of figures…………………………………………………………………….iii
List of tables……………………………………………………………………...iv
Chapter 1: introduction
1.1 introduction……………………….……………………………………...…1

1.2 problem statement …………………………………………………….…1

1.3 motivation ……………………………………………………………….3

1.4 objective……………………………………………………………….…4
Chapter 2: background and literature review
2.1 background on braille ………………………………………………..…..5
2.1.1 Braille cell …………………………………………………….…..6
2.1.2 English letters, numbers and symbols ………………………….....7
2..1.3 Amharic braille ………………….……………………………….8
2.2 component discerption ……………….………………………………..12
2.2.1 Arduino Uno board …………….……………………………….12.
2.2.2 mobile vibrator ……………….…………………………………14
2.2.3 push buttons………………….………………………………….15
2.2.4 Text to Speech(TTS)……….……………………………………16
2.2.5 C# programing language….……………………………………..17
Chapter 3: Methodology
3.1 Overview …………………. ……………………………………,……...18
3.2 description ……………………………………………………….……...19
3.3 System Architecture and Design Approach…………..………………....20
3.3.1 Software ………………………………………….……………...20
braille reader…………………………………………………....21
writing unit……………………………………………….….....22
control unit……………………………………………...……...23

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 desktop application………………………………………….24
3.3.2 hardware…………………………………………………………….25

Chapter 4: system design and implementation

4.1 hardware implementation …………………….…………………….. 26
4.1.1 vibrator motor………………………………………………. 26
4.1.2 microcontroller……………………………………………. 28
4.1.3 writing keyboard and control unit…………………………. 29
4. 2 software implementation……………………………………………..30
4.2.1 firmware……………………………………………………….30
reading unit…………………………………………………….30
writing unit…………………………………………………….31
control unit…………………………………………………….32
computer application …………………………………..………33
Chapter 5: result and discussion
:5.1 result …………………………………………………………...……36
5.2 discussion……….……………………………………………...……37
Chapter 6: project challenges and budget layout
6.1: project challenges……………………………………………...………38
6.2: budget lay out…………………………………………………...……..38
Chapter 7: Conclusion and future work
7.1 Future work …………………………………………………………....39
7.2 conclusion………………………………………………………….......40
References……………………………………………………………………….…41
Appendix A………. ……………………………………………………………......42

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 List of figures
Figure 1: Braille dot arrangement……………………………………………………...…6
Figure 2: Braille Alphabet …………………………………………...…………………..7
Figure 3: Braille Amharic Alphabet…………………………………………...…..……...8
Figure 4: Braille character…………………………………………………………..…….8
Figure 5: slate and stylus………………………………………………………………….9
Figure 6: Perkins brailler………………………………………………………………… 9
Figure 7: Mountbatten’s brailler…………………………………………………… …. 10
Figure 8: electronic braille note taker with refreshable display……………………..….. 11
Figure 9: Arduino Uno board…………………………………………………..……..….. 13
Figure 10: coin motor vibrator………………………………………….…………………15
Figure 11: push button ……………………………………….……………………………15
Figure 12: project execution flow chart……………………………….…………………..18
Figure 13: the block diagram of braille reading and writing device………………………19
Figure 14: process for braille reader and writer-reading mode……………………………21
Figure 15: process for braille reader and writer-writing mode ………..……………… …22
Figure 16: control unit function…………………………………………………….……..23
Figure 17: connecting Diagram…………………………….......………………………….27
Figure 18: voltage vs amplitude, frequency, current for vibrator motor…….………….…28
Figure 19: pin diagram for atmega…………………………………………………………29
Figure 20: braille reader writer app ……………………………….…………………...…..34
Figure 21 braille reader write-read mode …………………………………..……….……..35
Figure 22: braille reader write-write mode……...................................................................35
Figure 23: control circuit board…………...….....................................................................36
Figure 24: reading circuit board …….………………………………………………....….36
Figure 25: writing circuit board…………………………………………………….……..37

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List of Tables
Table 1 hardware requirement……………………………….…………………….. 25
Table 2 Prototype cost……………………………………………………………...38

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 introduction

Braille is a means of reading and writing for blind people. Smart braille reading and writing
device is a simple and cost effective device implement to demonstrate a new design for a braille,
comprising a design aims to produce a device that perform mild vibrations in six finger of visual
impaired person.

This project smart braille reader and writer is very essential project and it very important
for visual impaired persons.in any way economically, socially, and nationally. We have decided
to do this project because we have a great passion to help the visual impairs to get them access in
new technologies because the previous ones are no this much accessible, they are very expensive,
they are not portable, our project is very simple to use, very portable, fair cost and very easy to
learn for any visual impaired persons. Since we are technology students Our project enables visual
impaired persons to use new technologies and update on new information. on our total project we
have worked the software and the hard ware part effectively done all the. but we have some
challenges. We Have experienced very important knowledge about designing and engineering a p

1.2 problem statement

Ethiopia is believed to have one of the world’s highest rate of blindness and low vision.
national survey on blindness and low vison done in 2008 revealed that the national prevalence of
blindness is 1.6% and low vison is 3.7% of the population. according to the survey, there are 1.28
million blind people and another 2.96 million people with low vision. [1]

Unfortunately, only few people with blindness get proper education and get the chance to use
braille to read and write. Because our country hasn’t developed an easy system for visual impaired
peoples to learn and to develop their own skill specially they have very rare access to use
technology device and also the devices available are very expensive and are not easy to use. In
addition, those people that have proper education use manual writing and reading. There are only
few resources that has been translated into braille and they couldn’t get the chance to cop up with
modern technology and the get information with in it. Because of this visual impairs are limit of

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what they can do for themselves, for their community, and also for their country because of the
availability of the write technology that can make them actively participate in technology and
information.

There is a lack of technological advancement on the braille reading and writing systems they
are very expensive and are not easily accessible and portable and the language they are using is
foreign mostly this is a disadvantage for specially the rural which mostly hasn’t practiced English
language.

The other problem is language in our context is Amharic since most of the visual impaired
peoples most of them doesn’t speak English language it makes it even worse and difficult for them
to use modern technology specially for student it will became very difficult for them to learn and
study and also to using modern technology.

The most brief and major on of problem is the cost and the portability most of the previous
braille systems are very expensive and are not portable. Specially in our countries context most of
the visual impaired are weak financially it will become very difficult for them to get access
specially for students they won’t be able to get access for new technologies. It will be difficult to
learn and get connection with modern technology.

The other problem is the most of the braille instruments are not updated and most of them don’t
have interface with computer and new technologies. Because most of the device that are available
are not modern.

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1.3Motivation
It is common knowledge that the cause and consequence of disabilities is poverty poor people
more often develop a disability and disability and disabled people are above average subjected to
poverty.

We believe that any visual impaired person can do anything that a normal person does. Our
motivation is that most visual impaired person are hold behind different things specially in the
technology and information. So because this we as a AAIT (technology student) we have a deep
passion that we can help the visual impaired by making them a smart writing and writing device.
the challenge most blind individual faced is the reason for the establishment of this project. Our
major motivation is to help the visual impaired persons to make the visual impaired person. To
have easy access to hi technologies.to help the visual impaired persons to transmit and receive a
massage easily to update themselves with electronics devices and computers or any other

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1.4Objective
Since The general problem we are going to solve is that due to the lack of vision, the blind people
cannot easily access the latest information and the technologies. Modern technological
enhancements cannot be easily affordable to the visually impaired people because of their higher
cost and the less portability.

Our major objective of our project is to design and produce a smart and advanced braille reading
and writing device. To specify our project, we have to point out the major problem we have to
solve. The general problem we are going to solve is that due to the lack of vision, the blind people
cannot easily access the latest information and the technologies. Modern technological
enhancements cannot be easily affordable to the visually impaired people because of their higher
cost and the less portability. That is why it has become pretty necessary to develop a low cost,
portable and a fast Braille System for the visually impaired people.

The objective can be divided into sub-objectives as follows:

 Understand the braille alphabets, symbols for both English and Amharic alphabets.
 Design and build a prototype on proteus
 Write microcontroller code on Arduino interpret commands from the computer
 Developing a code for c# and implement TTS on the software

The second phase is making the hard ware part

 Understand the whole hardware part and visualized the whole design.
 Finding the right devices and equipment’s including the microcontroller
 Making the whole circuit and soldering activities

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 Chapter 2
background and literature review
2.1 background on braille
Braille is a means of reading and writing for blind people. The Braille system was invented by
Louis Braille. The Braille system is a method which translates letters to a combination of dots in
order to help individuals with sight defect and both blind deaf. Using Braille, blind individuals
can read a character by touch. The individual can read a Braille character by rolling a finger over
its six-dot.
A Braille reader can learn how to read Braille characters by first learning the position of the
dots on the cell, and then by memorizing the representations of all the letters, numbers and
character.
Different braille codes are used to map character sets of different languages to six bit cells.
Different braille codes are also used for different uses like mathematics and music. However,
because the six dot braille cell offers 63 possible combinations (2^6-1=63), of which some are
omitted because they feel the same (having the same dots patters in different positions) the
characters of a braille script commonly have multiple values, depending on their context. That is,
character mapping between print and braille is not one-to-one. For example, the character ⠙
corresponds in print to both the letter d and the digit 4. In an addition to simple encoding, modern
braille transcription uses contractions to increase reading speed. [2]

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2.1.1 Braille cell
In braille, an alphabet is made up by a combination of six dots arranged in two lateral rows each
having three dots. A raised dot can appear in any of the six positions, producing sixty-four (26)
possible patterns, including one in which there are no raised dots. The positions being universally
numbered, from top to bottom, as 1 to 3 on the left and 4 to 6 on the right. For example, dot pattern
1-3-4 describe a cell with three dots raised, at the top and bottom in the left column and at the top
of the right column: that is, the letter ⠍ m. The lines of horizontal Braille text are separated by a
space, much like visible printed text.

Each character in braille consists of one or more (to a maximum of six) raised dots. The position
of the different dots represents the different letters of the alphabet. The presence or absence of dots
give the coding for the symbols. These dots are made by punching an awl-like tool on a type of
thick paper.

Fig 1. braille dot arrangement

The dots height is approximately 0.02 inches(0.5mm); the horizontal and vertical spacing
between dots centers within a braille cell is approximately 0.1inches (2.5); the blank space between
dots on adjacent cells is approximately 0.15 inches (4mm) horizontal and 0.2 inches (5.0)
vertically. A standard braille page is 11 inches by 11.5 inches and typically has a maximum of 40
to 43 braille cells per line and 5 lines. [3]

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2.1.2English letters, numbers and symbols
There are three different version of English braille
1. Grade 1, which consists of 26 standard letter of alphabet and punctuation. It is used by
people who are first starting to read braille.
2. Grade 2, which consists of the 26 standard letters of alphabets, punctuation and
contraction. The contraction is employed to save because a braille page cannot fit as
much text as a standard printed page. Books, sign in public places, menus, and most
other braille are written in Grade 2 braille.
3. Grade 3 which are used in personal letters, diaries and notes. It is a kind of shorthand,
with entire words are shortened to a few letters.
This project only use Grade 1 braille standard they are more of universal and common to begin
with. The braille equivalent for English letter, number and characters is given in the figure below[4]

Fig 2 braille alphabet and number

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2.1.3 Amharic braille
Amharic Braille is the braille alphabet of the Amharic language. Letter values are mostly in line with
international usage. Amharic Braille is a consonant–vowel alphabet, not an abugida like the print Amharic
script. However, because the alphabetic chart is organized by syllable rather than by letter, the vowels,
which do not occur alone, are listed given first in the chart below, then the consonants are listed in Ge'ez
order. [5]
‘wa’ is not the default vowel in print Amharic, which is instead ሏ is writing in braille as ‘lwa’.

Fig 3 Amharic braille

 There is also a braille character for native Amharic punctuation

Fig 4

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Different writing and reading device has been used in the past. Some of the most common note-
taking devices are listed below
 Slate and Stylus
Is one of the oldest instrument used to write braille. To use a slate and stylus, the user
places a sheet of paper over the lower strip and closes the upper strip and presses it into
place. The tip of the stylus is then pressed down through the small rectangular hole to
make braille dots or cells. The process of using a slate and stylus requires the user to punch
the braille dots in reverse order (right to left), so that it can be read from left to right. slate
and stylus is portable and affordable, and therefore can be an excellent tool for note-taking
and writing.

Fig 5 slate and stylus

 Perkins Brailler
The standard Perkins braillewriter has six keys (one for each dot in a braille cell), a space
bar, a backspace key, a carriage return, and a line feed key. Braillewriters use heavyweight
paper. The Perkins SMART Brailler has a small video screen attached to the front of the
braillewriter that displays SimBraille and large print, combined with audio feedback. It
allows users to edit, save and transfer electronic documents via USB, and it also features
built-in software with lessons for braille beginners.

Fig 6 Perkins brailler

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  Mountbatten Brailler
The Mountbatten Braille is an electronic braille writer, note taker and embosser. It
integrates modern computer technology and has applications to support embossing, reading
and file storage and it has audio support for all its operations. It is adaptive technology that
has been designed to meet the needs of blind students in today's environment, especially in
early braille instruction. [6]

Fig 7 Mountbatten brailler

The reading device also include

 Refreshable Braille Displays

These devices operate by raising and lowering different combinations of pins electronically
to produce in braille what appears on a portion of the computer screen. They show up to
80 characters from the screen and are refreshable, that is, they change continuously as the
user moves around on the screen. The braille displays sit on the user's desk, often
underneath the computer keyboard. The advantage of the braille display in comparison to
synthetic speech is in its direct access to information, the ability to check format, spacing
and spelling, and the fact that it is quiet. The cost of braille displays is in the $3,500 to
$15,000 price range, depending on number of characters displayed.

 Braille Printers
braille printers do the actual embossing of braille onto paper. They are the braille
counterpart to ink printers but they differ in that they use solenoids to control embossing
pins, they typically print on heavy weight paper and require more pages than print, and
they are much slower and noisier. Interposing printers emboss braille on both sides of the
page. The price of a braille printer is directly related to the volume of braille production
required—between $1,800 and $5,000 for smaller volume production and between $10,000

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 Electronic Braille Notetakers
Electronic braille note takers are small, portable devices with braille keyboards for entering
information. They use a speech synthesizer or braille display for output. The user enters
the information on the braille keyboard and has the option of transferring it to a larger
computer with more memory, reviewing it using the built in speech synthesizer or braille
display, or printing it on a braille or ink print printer. The cost of a basic electronic braille
note taker is between $1000 and $3,000 with the option of products containing more
sophisticated features that can cost up to $15,000. [7]

Fig 8 electronic braille notetaker with refreshable display

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2.2 component discerption
This project uses different components and equipment’s this include, Arduino Uno, A mobile
vibrator, Text to speech module/speech synthesizer.

2.2.1Arduino Uno board

The Arduino Uno is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328. Atmel ATmega328
microcontroller operating at 5 V with 2 Kb of RAM, 32 Kb of flash memory for storing programs
and 1 Kb of EEPROM for storing parameters. The clock speed is 16 MHz, which translates to
about executing about 300,000 lines of C source code per second. The board has 14 digital I/O
pins and 6 analog input pins. There is a USB connector for talking to the host computer and a DC
power jack for connecting an external 6-20 V power source, for example a 9 V battery, when
running a program while not connected to the host computer. Headers are provided for interfacing
to the I/O. The Uno differs from all preceding boards in that it does not use the FTDI USB-to-
serial driver chip. Instead, it features the Atmega8U2 programmed as a USB-to-serial converter.

ATMEGA-328 microcontroller has been programmed for various applications. By using the
power jack cable, ATMEGA-328 microcontroller has been programmed so that the execution of
the program may takes place. Arduino software is installed in the computer and so that we can edit
and upload the program according to the applications.

This ATMEGA-328 has pins for different purpose. It consists of 6 analog inputs that are shown
in the pin diagram. Analog inputs are represented as A0 to A5. These analog input pins possess
the continuous time signal which acts as an analog input for the system. Further it also consists of
12 digital inputs. It is represented as PD1 to PD11 which act as a digital
input ports based on pulse width modulation (PWM). These PWM, which transmits the signal in
the form of discredited form. Both analog and digital input ports can be used for various
applications for the input power supply, VCC and GND pins are used. Pins PB6 and PB7, which
acts as a crystal to generate a clock signal. By using these crystal, we can generate the clock
signals and by these clock signals, we can use this clock signals for input sources. PC6 pin are
the one where it can be used for the reset option. Resetting the program can be done by using
this PC6 pin.

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 The working principle of ATMEGA-328 microcontroller is where the proper connection is
made. Checking all the input ports as well as the power supply connection. The output of the pins
can be connected with the external devices according to their applications. The program to be
executed for the applications can be done by using Arduino software. From this Arduino software,
we can edit according to the applications. This software can work on c and c++ programming
language. It is fully a high level language. By using the conditions of working, we can create a
program to proceed for the applications.
Then after, these programs can be uploaded through the ATMEGA-328 microcontroller by using
the power jack cable. The program can be uploaded to the microcontroller and ready for further
process. ATMEGA-328 microcontroller can save a program and these IC can act as a processor to
do the process without any error. After by giving an analog or digital input to the system, we can
do the process according to the applications. We can control the process of the application by
editing the program in the Arduino software and again can be uploaded to the ATMEGA-328
microcontroller via power jack cable.
There is an option of reset button. The purpose of reset button is to reset the program which
means the previous programs are deleted and we can use the ATMEGA-328 for the other
application purposes. Likewise, these ATMEGA-328 microcontrollers can be used for n number
of applications.[8]

FIG 9 ARDUINO UNO BOARD

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2.2.2 Mobile vibrator
Mobile vibrator motor also known as Eccentric Rotating Mass vibration motor, or ERM, is a
DC motor with an offset (non-symmetric) mass attached to the shaft. As the ERM rotates, the
centripetal force of the offset mass is asymmetric, resulting in a net centrifugal force, and this
causes a displacement of the motor. With a high number of revolutions per minute, the motor is
constantly being displaced and moved by these asymmetric forces. It is this repeated displacement
that is perceived as a vibration.

The simplest way to drive vibrator motor is to connect the terminals / leads to a constant voltage
DC source, at the motor’s rated voltage. A constant voltage will drive the motor at a constant
speed, and hence constant frequency and vibration amplitude, until the supply is switched off.

Vibrator motor will work over a range of voltages, but the start voltage which must be observed
in order to guarantee that the vibration motor will start every time. As the applied voltage is
increased, the vibration frequency increases proportionally, and vibration amplitude will all
increase.

The vibrator motor current is proportional to the torque ‘load’ seen by the motor. As vibration
energy is taken out of the motor system, the torque required to continue spinning the eccentric
mass will increase, and so too will the current. This explains why the current draw of a loosely
held vibration motor is greater than the current draw when the same motor is clamped tightly

Motor vibrator configured in two basic varieties that means coin (or flat) and cylinder (or bar).
Cylinder type motors are simple brush motors with a traditional axial design. Cylinder motors are
manufactured in high volumes and are fairly inexpensive. An electrical current applied to the coil
in the direction of the arrow generates upward force on the left side of the coil and downward force
on the right side, causing the coil to revolve clockwise.[9]

The coin type motor vibrator has rating voltage of 3.0V with a starting voltage of 2.3V and
rating current of 90Ma max.it has a rotation speed of 9,000rev/min and internal resistance 30Ώ
which make it suitable for this project.

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 Figure 10: coin motor vibrator
2.2.3 Switch/push button
The figure shows a picture of a pushbutton switch and its schematic symbol. Note that the symbol
represents a switch whose contacts are normally open, but then are shorted when the button is
pushed. If you have a switch, use the continuity (beeper) function of a digital mustimeter (DMM)
to understand when the leads are open and when they are connected as the button is pushed.

Figure 11: push button

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2.2.4 Text to speech (TTS)
Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is
called a speech computer or speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware products.
A text-to-speech (TTS) system converts normal language text into speech; other systems render symbolic
linguistic representations like phonetic transcriptions into speech.

Text-to-Speech (TTS) refers to the ability of computers to read text aloud. A TTS Engine converts
written text to a phonemic representation, then converts the phonemic representation to waveforms
that can be output as sound. TTS engines with different languages, dialects and specialized
vocabularies are available through third-party publishers.

Synthesized speech can be created by concatenating pieces of recorded speech that are stored in a
database. Systems differ in the size of the stored speech units; a system that stores phones or
diphones provides the largest output range, but may lack clarity. For specific usage domains, the
storage of entire words or sentences allows for high-quality output. Alternatively, a synthesizer
can incorporate a model of the vocal tract and other human voice characteristics to create a
completely "synthetic" voice output

An intelligible text-to-speech program allows people with visual impairments or reading

disabilities to listen to written words on a home computer. Many computer operating systems have
included speech synthesizers since the early 1990s.

Multiple companies offer TTS APIs to their customers to accelerate development of new
applications utilizing TTS technology. Companies offering TTS APIs for mobile app development,
Android operating system has been offering text to speech API for a long time. Most recently, with
iOS7, Apple started offering an API for text to speech. Windows basic also offer speech API
(SAPI). [10]

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2.2.5 C# programing language
C# (pronounced "C-sharp") is an object-oriented programming language from Microsoft that aims
to combine the computing power of C++ with the programming ease of Visual Basic. C# is based
on C++ and contains features similar to those of Java.

C# is designed to work with Microsoft's .Net platform. Microsoft's aim is to facilitate the
exchange of information and services over the Web, and to enable developers to build highly
portable applications. C# simplifies programming through its use of Extensible Markup Language
(XML) and Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) which allow access to a programming object
or method without requiring the programmer to write additional code for each step. Because
programmers can build on existing code, rather than repeatedly duplicating it, C# is expected to
make it faster and less expensive to get new products and services to market. Microsoft is
collaborating to create a standard for C#[11]

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 Chapter 3
Methodology
This section explains about the methods and procedures used in designing and implementing
in braille reader and writing device. It explains how the system is developed by going through the
detail operation of each subsystem.

3.1 Overview
This project aims at constructing and implementing a simple and cost effective braille reading
and writing device. This work plans to solve the problem visual impaired people face to read digital
documents and manually typewriting. It helps to improve the life of many individual and ease the
access of information on computer. It also considers both visual impaired and deaf blind peoples.
The following flowchart gives a brief overview the procedures to be followed in building the
system:

Fig 12 Project execution flow chart

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3.2 description
The system uses a set of six vibrator motor to represent a braille cell and set of push buttons
for the writing pad and control unit. A microcontroller is used to convert text file from computer
into braille cell combination and move the vibrator motors according the letter received. In
converse when used as writer it will convert the input braille letter into English letter and send to
the computer. The control unit used to navigate through the function of the device and adjust the
varies parameter. There is a desktop application to assist browsing text(.txt) and document(.docx)
files and using Text to Speech(TTS) library on .NET framework to generate voice in order to check
whether the text they write is correct.
There is also the Amharic version for reading and writing Amharic braille. It has full features
to write Amharic alphabets and punctuation. Since there is now Text to Speech(SAPI) library for
Amharic language the voice assisted and spelling check features are not yet implemented. For the
reading mode the vibrator will move according to the Amharic letter and Amharic letter can be
read in the same way as the English text.

Sound/generated Control unit

Power by computer
supply

Serial port Microcontroller

Computer Braille writing pad

software (6 push buttons) Vibrator motor

Fig 13 The block diagram of braille reading and writing device

19
 3.3 System Architecture and Design Approach
The system is modeled according to the function performed by different part of the device.
From the above block diagram, the general system consists of four main parts, reading unit, writing
unit, control unit and computer software.
The hardware and software development will be executed divided in two phase. The first phase
of the project will focus on designing and simulating the hardware, writing libraries to be used in
developing the final software. In the second stage, a prototype will be built and additional features
like Amharic reading will be included. Finally using simulations and the prototype, the software
will be developed and refined.

3.3.1 Software
The software part consists of two major codes running on two different environments; there
Arduino Uno and on computer.
The software is divided in to two modules. These modules
1. develop the firmware for the microcontroller,
2. developing desktop application
firmware is a program that run on Atmega 328 microcontroller. It is the center of this project
it consists of three major parts the conversion of braille to text file, text files to braille and
controlling the function of the device. This parts are summarized under the three module
 braille reader
 braille writer
 control unit

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Braille reader
This part consists the conversion of English as well Amharic letter, numbers and characters
into set of six signals similar to braille letter and create vibration on the output motors. Since
the file send from the computer is string the microcontroller will evaluate each character in the
string and match it with the set of values in the microcontroller flash memory. For example,
‘A’ is represent as an output at pin 3 of atmega328 and when the microcontroller received this
letter in a string it will set pin 3 to high and the vibrator connected to this pin will vibrate. The
process is summarized as in the chart bellow

Txt/doc file send from desktop application

through serial port

Compare the letter/character from lookup

Generate the proper signal according to

the letter and feed the motors.

Specific set of vibrator motor will vibrate

Fig 14 Process for braille reader and writer –reading mode

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Writing unit
This part involves programming the conversion of braille input to text – this involves accepting
the different combination of input from the braille pad (7 push buttons) and process it by
microcontroller and translates it into English/Amharic text. Each letters typed will be compared to
lookup table stored in the flash memory of the microcontroller. Then send it serially to the
computer. In order to avoid typing error the computer software will announce the spelling of the
typed alphabetic letter.

Input from the push buttons

Compare the value on the pin with lookup

Generate the English letter/character

Send to the desktop application through

serial port

Fig 15 Process for braille reader and writer –writing mode

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Control unit
This part control the following functions

 Choice between reading mode or writing mode

 Change language from English to Amharic or vise-versa
 Browse .txt and .doc file and open
 Save written text into txt file

The control consists of four push buttons i.e. reading option, for writing option, language option
and final for browsing and saving. This buttons are multiplexed and they perform other function
when they are in writing/reading mode. When they are in reader mode these button function as
start reading, go back in to the selector mode. When they are in writing mode they function as
backspace for erasing mistyped letter and move back to selector mode.

The general flow chart for control unit is given below

Navigate by the control

buttons in selector mode

Which
mode?

Reader mode Writer mode

Control button function as Control button function as

1.browse file 1. Amharic/English

2. Save text file
2. Amharic/English
3.go back to selector mode
3.go back to selector mode

Fig 16 Control unit function

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Desktop application
the desktop application was creating for assisting the visual impaired individual to open and
read digital saved documents and make it more friendly.it has the following main purpose

 Browse and open txt and word file on the computer and send data in to the hardware
serially. There is a voice to assist and the visual impaired individual can control it from the
hardware by the control unit.
 receive typed letter/character from the hardware and save it in to the text file. This file can
be reopening in the reading mode. Again there is a voice to assist the individual in the
process.
 The voice assistance is a great tool that make the software more friendly
 They allow a great flexibility and increase the robustness and made the hardware easy to
use.

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 3.3.2 hardware
This module is considered as the heart of the overall system. It contains most of the functional
hardware of the system. The basic components in this module are the microcontroller, vibrator
motor and their drivers analog circuit and bush buttons.

Resource Requirement
Component used quantity

Motor vibrator 6

Transistor 6

Resistor 15

Capacitor 6

Push buttons 16

Diodes 6

Wires

Table 1 hardware requirement

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 Chapter 4
System Design and Implementation
As discussed in previous sections, the project consists of both hardware and software design.
The design decisions taken will be justified in this chapter. In addition, the implementation of these
designs will be explained in detail.

4.1 Hardware implementation

In this part of the project most of the hardware selection and the connection with the
microcontroller is solved. Most of the analog designing problems are tackled and a working
prototype are constructed on PROTEUS designing and simulation software.
4.1.1 Vibrator Motor
We have used coin type motor vibrator have rating voltage of 3.0V with a starting voltage of
2.3V and rating current of 90mA max.it has a rotation speed of 9,000rev/min and internal
resistance 30Ώ. The vibration mechanism and all moving parts are protected within the metallic
housing encasing of the motor. We choice these vibrators because they are mostly found in mobile
phones and their price is less expensive compared to other vibrator. The can easily be found in the
market.

There rating voltage and current make them more suitable for this project since the can be drive
from the 3.3v pin Arduino Uno. The maximum current from 3.3v pin is 40 mA so it is insufficient
to drive six vibrators motors.so we design analog circuit to derive these motors.

There are many vibration motor driver ICs available on the market, with some specifically
designed for vibration handling. A simpler solution is to use a single transistor.by using transistor
circuit we can control the current through the motor vibrators. Almost any NPN transistor can be
used to provide current amplification. But we used BC107 BJT transistor since they are found in
electrical department.

To make up for weak output current from Arduino, we use a transistor to provide current
amplification. To make sure that too much current does not flow from the output of the transistor,
we place a 1KΩ in series with the base of the transistor. This attenuates current to a reasonable
amount so that too much current isn't powering the motor. transistors provide about 100 times the

26
amplification to the base current that enters through. If we don't place a resistor at the base or at
the output, too much current can be damaging to the motor.

When driving a motor with a microcontroller, it is important to connect a diode reverse

biased in parallel to the motor. This is also true when driving it with a motor controller or transistor.
The diode acts as a surge protector against voltage spikes that the motor may produce. The
windings of the motor notoriously produce voltage spikes as it rotates. Without the diode, these
voltages could easily destroy the microcontroller, or zap out a transistor.

The 0.1µF capacitor is used to absorbs voltage spikes produced when the brushes, which are
contacts connecting electric current to the motor windings, open and close.

Fig 17 connecting diagram is given below.

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 Fig 18 voltage vs amplitude, frequency and current [11]

4.1.2Microcontroller
Multiple factors were considered in choosing a microcontroller. The first and most important
factor was performance. The second factor was number of pins. The microcontroller needed at
least 12 pins for the initial designs. A microcontroller with more than 12 pins was preferred for
future expansions. Finally, ease of programming and availability were considered.
Evaluating dimensions mentioned above, and considering price Arduino Uno is preferred. This
board future ATMEGA 328 microcontroller is an 8bit AVR RISC with 32KB of flash, 1KB
EEPROM, 2KB SRAM, 20 GPIO, USART, internal oscillator and much more. On top of all of
these, it's power efficient and robust.
The best part of this board is Serial communication. This is done through on built ATmega8U2
chip. An ATmega8U2 on the board channels serial communication over USB and appears as a
virtual com port to software on the computer. The '8U2 firmware uses the standard USB COM
drivers, and no external driver is needed. This eliminate the need to use RS 32 and building external
circuitry for converting UART to USB protocol.
Since our device is simple and portable the ability to provide voltage from the computer avoid
the need to build external power supply .in addition the ease of programing and uploading firmware
make the Arduino Uno a perfect match to the project.
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 Fig 19. Pin diagram for atmega328

4.1.3 Writing keyboard and control unit

Different option was explored in order to implement writing keyboard and control unit.
Among this an array of push buttons and custom keypad consist of three set. The latter option is
required more price and the difficult to found in local market solidify our choice to the second
option.

The connection of the push button with the microcontroller can be done using a pull-down
resistor of 5 kΏ and a 5V source from the Arduino.

29
 4.2 Software Implementation
The software consists of two separate codes running on two different machines. The first part is
the firmware running on an ATMEGA 328 while the second is the desktop application running
on a personal computer.

4.2.1 Firmware
The firmware is the software running on the microcontroller. It is developed in C programing
language Arduino integrated development environment (Arduino IDE). The development of the
firmware passed two major stages. First developing code for reading, writing and controlling unit
for English braille. The second stage involves integrating Amharic version. Finally, both the
Amharic and English version are incorporated into a single unit. Each unit will be explored in
detail in the following parts.
As mentioned earlier it consists three parts.
 conversion from txt into braille
 conversion from braille into txt
 controlling the unit through serial

reading unit
the flow chart for implementing this unit is based on the diagram given in the methodology of
reading unit. Pin 2 to 7 on Arduino are set as output voltage and connected to the motor vibrator.
This pins have the ability to create PWM that drive motor vibrators.

Code for vibrator signal generator

30
 The next step is to create a function that generate the proper signal that goes into the vibrators
according to the letter received. By assigning each pins a Boolean value of zero or one we can
have a vector with six bits.
The final part will be preparing a lookup table that represent the six bit values for each letter,
number and character of English. This values are fixed and should not be altered as show in a code
snipe in the figures bellow.

Code for lookup table for reading

As an example when letter ‘a’ send serially from the computer, first the microcontroller looks
that the table to generate six-bit value for letter ‘a’. the six-bit value for ‘a’ is (1,0,0,0,0,0), this
value will be passed to the signal generator i.e asciToBraille function. This function set the output
value of first vibrator HIGH and the rest will be LOW.

Writing unit
Similarly, the implementation for the writing is based on the flow chart on the fig
Pin A0 to A5 are assigned as input pins to register the pressed buttons from the writing board.
Once all the buttons pressed at the same time are known, this values will be compared to the lookup
table.
The lookup table have all the combination for the English letter and symbols and it will return
the letter. A sample of lookup table for writing is given in the figure bellow.

31
 The letter will be send serially to the computer. The computer software using TTS library will
pronounce the letter for spelling check. If space is the pressed button, then the whole letter will be
read.

Fig lookup table for writing

Control unit
The control part has four main functions and use four push buttons

Pin assignment for control unit

Pin 8 is assigned as for reading, when this pin is pressed the device will be in reading mode and
perform action in reading mode. While in the we can switch into Amharic reading or back to
English using Amharic button i.e. pin 12 or we can go back to the selector mode by pressing back
button pin 10.
Similarly, when we selected write the device will start operating like braille type writer. We can
save the text or document in the computer local disk by pressing the save button pin 9.

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 4.2.2 Computer Application
It is a software running on a personal computer that assisted the visual impaired indusial to
read and write txt on the computer and generate voice to help the individual to access easily. It is
developed using C# programing language in visual studio. This is a licensed software but the
choice is due to C# is quick for prototyping purposes and easy programing.
The choice for this language is
 it has rich library for serial communication
 it has voice library(SAPI) and text to speech converter
 it makes programing easy and well-constructed IDE for application running
on windows
 the ability to handle UTF-8 and Uutf-16 make it easy to implement Amharic
version of the reading and writing part.

The great feature of C# language is it has well built in Text to Speech library which is a core
for our project. To implement all needed is to call some function within the package. For example,
to announce when the read option is selected the following line of code is used.

As mentioned in the description part there is no built in library for Amharic language this
make hard for the Amharic version to implement using voice assists. In the future this can be next
step to the device.
Amharic braille implementation
As explained in the literature review Amharic braille is not like Ge’ez alphabet. It uses a
combination of consonant and vowels. The letter pressed in the writing pad will be send to the
computer. The microcontroller sends the English equivalent to the computer. The desktop
application will combine the vowel and consonant and create the equivalent Amharic charter and
print it on the screen. For example when the individual press ‘h’ and ‘e‘ the microcontroller send
each letter serial. Software will combine them into ‘he’ and print Amharic letter ‘ሀ’. Sample code
is as follow.

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 Similarly, the reading for Amharic is done in exact converse to the writing. The computer first
converts the Amharic text in to English and send to the microcontroller. The microcontroller
performs the same function as in the English version. The screenshots of the software are incudes
bellow.

Fig 20 braille reader and writer app

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Fig 21 brailereader writer reading mode

Fig 22 brailereader writer writing mode

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 Chapter 5

Result and discussion

5.1 Result
 The result of our smart reading and writing device include
1. the control circuit board which contains read, write, backspace, save, browse
contains buttons

Fig 23 control circuit board

2. the circuit that contains the motor vibrates which is the reading board and it contains
transistors, diode, resistor and capacitor

Fig 24 of reading circuit board

36
 3. the circuit that contains the push buttons which is the writing device

Fig 25 f reading writing board

5.2 Discussion
The diagram bellow shows the comparison of the device with presently found reading and writing
device. Our device has a cost advantage of existing braille.

Fig 26. Cost comparison chart for braille reading and writing device

37
 Chapter 6
project challenges and budget lay out
6.1 project Challenges
We have faced many challenges in doing our project the first is shortage of supply the mobile
vibrator. Most of the components we face are very sensitive and can easily be damage because of
different reasons specially when we are soldering the heat of the iron affected them. The other one
is the Arduino board input pins are very sensitive for very small voltage which vary our result
makes it difficult for us to measure and test our project.

6.2Budget layout
The cost of the project is given in table 2
number component Quantity Price comment
1 Arduino UNO 1 800 ETB purchased
2 Vibrator motor 20 120 ETB purchased
3 Push button 6 30 ETB purchased
4 Transistor 6 30 ETB purchased
5 Resistors 15 45 ETB purchased
6 Capacitor 6 24 ETB purchased
7 Diodes 6 18 ETB purchased
Total ETB 1067
Purchased:
Table 2 prototype cost

38
Chapter 7: Conclusion and future work
7.1 Future work
During this project both Amharic and English braille reading and writing has been demonstrated
they were Successful. The device can handle word and text files. Furfure improvement on this
device will definitely lead great work in the field of engineering. Our suggestion for future work
 adding more features on control on word file and fonts and able to
 ability to navigate world wide web and use social medias
 using email and
 in social networking
 in writing a computer program
 if they want to communicate through instant massage software
 if they want to make a blog
 They can also use record and edit their document

Future incorporation of Amharic voice library will without no doubt will change the life of many
Ethiopian visually impaired peoples.

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7.2 Conclusion
This final year project, to design and build Smart Braille Reading and Writing device, has been
a significant learning experience. We have spent lots of hours on this project between hardware
and software.
Generally, the prototype of a Smart Braille Reading and Writing device was developed. This
device has the capability of reading text from computer and actuating each character of the text in
Braille format, which could be read by visually impaired individuals by placing a finger on a single
Braille cell. The success of building the prototype of Smart Braille Reading and Writing device
proved that the Braille could be read from a single Braille cell. It converted ASCII characters from
the text into Braille patterns actuating on a single finger. The portable characteristics will give the
users the ability to bring this device anywhere. The single cell design reduces the overall cost of
the device. Further development and improvement would be required before the device would be
ready for common use, such as selecting more suitable actuators available on the market.
On our project we have worked very carefully to make the device smart and comfortable for
the visual impaired persons. Anyone who can understand the braille alphabet. Can use this device
effectively. Our project makes it easy for the visual impaired to easily send and receive data form
any electronic device very easily. They can do their own work without anyone else. And make it
easy for the for the day today activities and to work very effectively. In our project very essential
for the visual impaired peoples and it has a significant importance on once country growth because
this device the visual impaired people can work hard effectively and make their own contribution
to their country.

40
References
[1] National Survey on Blindness, Low Vision and Trachoma in Ethiopia, Prof. Yemane
Berhane,Dr. Alemayehu Worku,Dr. Abebe Bejiga,2006

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braille retrieved May 25,2017

[3] https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Braille cell retrieved may 25,2017
[4] braille to voice converter using PIC microcontroller, Zamazaliza Binti
Roslan,2010

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amharic_braille retrieved May 25,2017

[6] http://www.brailebug.afb.org/braille_technology.asp retrieved May 25,2017

[7] http://www.afb.org/assitive-technology/braille-technology/35 retrieved May 25,2017

[8] Atmega_328P manual

[9] http://www.recisionmicrodrives.com/vibrator-motor-characteristics retrieved June 10,2017

[10] http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/speech_synthesis retrieved June 10,2017

[11] https://msdn.microsoft.com

[12] http://www.recisionmicrodrives.com/vibrator-motor-characteristics retrieved June 10,2017

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Appendix A

DATA SHEET FOR LAT COIN MOTOR VIBRATOR

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43