Designed with a vision

Sanskriti Dawle and Aman Srivastav, two computer science engineering students from BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa Campus, have designed a device that will help in learning the basics of Braille and improve the teaching environment for the visually impaired. Symbolically called Mudra (this Sanskrit word refers to signs and symbols), the device teaches Braille by translating speech into its equivalent Braille symbols and thereby making the task easy. Speaking about this product which was born out of the interest kindled in them by a Raspberry Pi device workshop held at the college, Aman says, “After attending the workshop, we wanted to use our knowledge to develop something interesting, innovative and useful. After putting much thought into it, we started building Mudra .”

A Braille-Dicta teacher, the product comprises a Braille hardware set connected to the single-board Raspberry Pi device, coded with Python. The hardware set consists of a small palm-sized box with six pegs which move up and down to create shapes indicating letters and numbers as per the Braille system. Mudra can be operated in two modes — browse and auto mode. “In browse mode, the user gives in a speech input which is converted with the help of Google’s speech API into its Braille equivalent,” explains Sanskriti. “In the auto mode, the already automated process provides the users a sequential audio-tactile output.” Aman and Sanskriti are developing another mode — the exam mode — where a random letter is displayed in Braille script, the user is asked for the respective letter and this answer is checked against the database.

Predicated on the fact that Braille is a tactile learning system, the device automates the process of repetition. “The human brain can associate the touch and texture of things,” says Aman. “And this is what we have made use of in developing the device. We have automated the repetition approach, which develops tactile memory.” Built as a tool to teach the basics of Braille, Mudra is Sanskriti and Aman’s attempt at bridging the literacy gap. “We believe that the device can help standardise the teacher certification process in the future,” says Sanskriti. “The existing Braille systems are quite expensive, and with our invention, the process can be easier and affordable.”