Problem :
Ubiquitous smartphone access has empowered almost every individual with access to information and services that make our lives not only make daily life easy But almost enables us to do and perform at much higher levels.
However, The switch to touch screen as the primary means of input for phones has created a barrier for a large community of visually impaired users from using a smartphone to its full potential.
The Touch-Tying accessibility function on android phones using talkback is painfully slow and is a big limiter in the speed at which a visually impaired person can type into the device.
Prior Work done to understand the problem deeper:
We built our first prototype Tipo (https://hackaday.io/project/21175-tipo-braille-smartphone-keypad ) in 2017, and used it to gather valuable feedback from the visually impaired community:
(Above) Video from one of the feedback sessions, the user requesting various features. All feedback videos can be found on the Hackaday Page.
Summary of Feedback & Improvements to be made:
- Change button layout for text input
- Remove OTG wire, make it wireless as it interferes with ergonomics
- Add scroll & navigation buttons to remove all need to interact with the touch screen. Scrolling is also a challenge to overcome
- Add button/joystick for common swipe gestures, as performing gestures is also a problem
- Inbuilt battery to function independently of a smartphone
- Support for braille shorthand
Another important aspect is the importance of Braille literacy in the visually impaired community. Other than reading printed braille, methods of writing braille like using a brailler are too expensive or slow and thus braille literacy is falling out of favor even though global institutions around the world assert the importance of braille education and economical betterment of visually impaired people.
Proposed Solution:
A physical keypad whose main text input is in the form of Braille so that no learning curve is required for someone who is braille literate. This also then serves as a device to bring Braille into everyday use and keeps the user literate in braille.
The keypad will be used to navigate through all the functionality of the smartphone in addition to text and numerical input and aims at improving the proficiency and speed while using a smartphone. It will be used in conjunction with the talkback feature on the smartphone that will act as feedback as the various actions are being performed.
A secondary goal of the solution is to improve smartphone adoption among those in the visually impaired community who are still using buttoned-feature phones.
Building on the design and firmware of the first prototype, We propose the next iteration of the Barille Keypad with the following features:
Text Input:
High-quality tactile button interface in an ergonomic layout
Multi-Lingual Support
Braille Shorthand support for English
Support for number input
Navigation:
Support for Forward/Back/next
D-Pad/Joystick for scrolling and navigating
Programmable shortcut buttons for regularly used apps, actions, or emergency phone numbers.
Connectivity:
Bluetooth Connectivity for wireless connection to the phone. The phone can remain in the pocket while the user is able to navigate across functionalities of the phone
Usage of Arduino Nano 33 IOT:
The main use case around what Arduino Nano IOT is its small size, low power consumption and its ability to function as a BLE HID interface which is key for the keypad to operate without the requirement of any driver or app on the smartphone.
Hardware Block Diagram:
Tentative BOM:
Arduino Nano IOT 33
16-Channel Mux https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9056
PSP Joystick https://www.adafruit.com/product/444
5 Direction Navigation Button https://robu.in/product-tag/five-direction-navigation-button-module/
12x12 Push buttons with caps https://robu.in/product/tactile-push-button-switch-assorted-kit-25-pcs/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAvP6ABhCjARIsAH37rbQtr6t3isukUAQ_pq…
350-500 mAh Battery https://robu.in/product/orange-360-mah-1s-30c-60c-lithium-polymer-battery-pack-lipo/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAvP6ABhCjARIsAH37rbSLu…
Battery Management/Charging module: https://robu.in/product/tp4056-1a-lipo-battery-charging-board-micro-usb-with-current-protection/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAvP6ABhCjA…
ON/OFF slider switch/ Push lock switch: https://robu.in/product/7x7mm-6-pin-dpdt-self-lock-lock-push-switch-10pcs/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAvP6ABhCjARIsAH37rbSZpjkF_9rb5oc…
Tentative Timeline:
Breadboarding and Component/Circuit prototyping: Feb 20th to Feb 25th
Firmware/Software: Feb 25th to March 5th
Electronics Finalisation after application debugging & testing on a breadboard: March 5th to March 7th
Mechanical Design: March 7th to March 10th
PCB Design & Fabrication: March 10th to March 20th
Assembly: March 20th - March 22nd
Testing with visually Impaired users: March 25th Onwards
Interactions & Changes if necessary: March 25th to April 15th
Final Submission: April 15th
Team:
Vijay Raghav Varada ( https://github.com/vjvarada )
I'm an engineer-entrepreneur who likes to work at the intersection of Art, Design, and Technology. I run Fracktal Works, a 3D printing hardware & solutions company based in India and have used 3D printing and my background in Mechatronics Engineering to create several open-hardware projects like a Wind Turbine & Generator that was used to charge electronics on an expedition in Antarctica and assistive devices for the visually impaired. I am also a TEDx speaker, have authored a children's book on Arduino & Robotics, and a two-time Hackaday Prize finalist.