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Raspberry Pi based braille keyboard design with audio output for the visually
challenged

Conference Paper · July 2023

DOI: 10.59287/icmar.1306

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 1st International Conference on Modern
and Advanced Research
July 29-31, 2023 : Konya, Turkey

All Sciences Proceedings

http://as-proceeding.com/ © 2023 Published by All Sciences Proceedings https://as-
proceeding.com/index.php/icmar

Raspberry Pi based braille keyboard design with audio output for the
visually challenged
Serhat Küçükdermenci *,1
1
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering,
Balıkesir University, 10463, Balikesir, Turkey.
*
([email protected]) Email of the corresponding author

Abstract – Most blind and visually impaired students in third world countries still use mechanical braille
for their education. With the advancement of technology and the spread of electronic communication,
paper-based Braille is not effective and efficient enough. The Raspberry Pi-based Braille keyboard design
with audio output is a low-cost electronic keyboard whose main features are to vocalize Braille characters
written by a visually impaired student and display them on an LCD screen. Proposed to promote an
interactive educational experience among students, teachers and parents, the Braille printer is affordable
and cost-effective with advanced features. The design of the device is simple as it is based on Raspberry Pi
technology. The user hears the output after a short buzzer beep when the character typing process is
finished. gTTS (Google Text-to-Speech) is a Python package and Google Translates text-to-speech API is
used to convert text to speech. The data is displayed on an LCD screen for the non-visually impaired
(teacher/parent). The Braille keyboard study is designed through the Proteus simulation program. This work
focuses on developing a Braille keyboard for later stages that allows users to use the Braille writing system
to enter text and communicate with digital devices.

Keywords – Braille, Python, Keyboard, Raspberry Pi, Visually Challenged People, Voice Output

I. INTRODUCTION advancement of technology, people with severe

One of the most important and necessary elements limitations are unable to benefit from it. Given the
for us to recognize the individuals around us is our importance of this emerging technology in the
vision. Because our eyes provide 83% of our education of blind youth, the creation of a low-cost
information about our surroundings [1]. Whether a device to translate Braille into Latin would allow
person has full or partial visual impairment, they are schools to overcome this barrier not only
considered visually impaired [2]. According to educationally but also financially.
World Health Organization figures, there are 285 Braille is a code and a tactile writing tool that
million visually impaired people worldwide, of enables the visually impaired to write and read in
which 39 million are blind and 246 million have any language. Since its introduction in 1821, Braille
limited vision [3]. has been recognized as the leading method of
The challenges that blind people face in their daily written communication for visually impaired people
lives have necessitated the development of around the world. It continues to be used today
technologies to ease their burden. With the without fundamental change [5]. Braille is a tactile
advancement of technology, academics have reading and writing method for the visually
recently been trying to design methods to alleviate impaired that uses raised dots to represent letters in
these challenges [4]. 90% of blind people live in the alphabet. Punctuation marks, scientific letters,
underdeveloped countries. Despite the continuous foreign languages and similar symbols are used to
334
symbolize various representations. Each line is read comparison table (see Table 1). As a result, third
by moving your hand from left to right. The Braille world countries cannot benefit from this emerging
keypad cells are touched simultaneously according technology. Because of these disadvantages, various
to the Braille combination of the letter or number the efforts are being made to teach low-cost Braille
user needs to enter (see Figure 1). embossing.

Table 1. Comparison table of commercially available Braille

devices.
Edit,
Price Weight saves Audio
Brailler
($) (kg) convert Feedback
to text
Mechanical(Perkins) 750 4.7 No No
Next Generation 710 3.6 No No
Electric(Perkins) 995 5.08 No No
Smart Brailler 2195 3.9 Yes Yes
Fig. 1 The Braille cell. Jot-A-dot 425 0.35 No No
Tatrapoint 1540 2.75 No No
Mountbatten
Figure 2 shows the braille codes of the Latin 3895 4.7 Yes Yes
electrical brailler
alphabet. Nemeth [6] is another code used for math Cosmo Braille
2330 - Yes Yes
Writer
and science notation.
Single-board computers, which basically consist
of a processor, RAM and input-output modules,
have emerged in recent years. Popular among users
due to their low price, these computers are often
project-based. The Mini2440 is the first example of
this trend, which is proving to be extremely popular.
This ARM-made computer has an ARM9-based
400MHz Samsung processor, 64MB RAM, 1GB
FLASH memory and 34-pin GPIO [8]. Another
board in this category is the BeagleBone produced
by the BeagleBoard.org organization. The
BeagleBone computer has a 720MHz ARM Cortex-
A8 processor, 256MB RAM and two 46-pin GPIO
connectors [9].
The Raspberry Pi organization launched the
Raspberry Pi board in 2011 [10]. The original
model, the Raspberry Pi Model B (see Figure 3), has
sold more than 2 million units.

Fig. 2 The Braille system is used to represent English

characters, symbols, and numbers.

Electronic Braillers are devices that convert

electronic impulses into user input. Electronic
equipment are typically faster and easier to use than
mechanical ones. Table 1 compares some Brailles
on the market based on their pricing and various
functions.
Commercial Braille devices [7] are characterized Fig. 3 Raspberry Pi Model B
by large volumes and high costs, as indicated in the
335
 functionality than Raspberry Pi. Many studies in the
The Raspberry Pi Model B computer is powered literature have indicated that using Raspberry Pi to
by a 700MHz ARM-based Broadcom processor, design systems to assist the visually impaired
512MB RAM, two USB2.0 ports and a 26-pin GPIO guarantees the portability of the device and allows it
connector. The most important element in the sales to be used comfortably anywhere.
graph of this computer is its price of $35. Many Venkateswarlu et al [11] investigated the
researchers have been working to take advantage of efficiency and cost effectiveness of developing a
the Raspberry Pi computer. Dave Akerman and his Raspberry Pi based system for text-to-speech
colleagues attached a Raspberry Pi to a weather translation to assist visually impaired students in
balloon and photographed the Earth from 40 their studies. The system is simple to use as the
kilometers away. Dr. Simon Cox and colleagues Raspberry Pi is a credit card sized device with full
assembled 64 Raspberry Pi boards to create an computing capability. According to Sharath et al
experimental supercomputer. Although the [12], one of the key advantages of adopting
Raspberry Pi is a powerful computer for its price, it Raspberry Pi to create a system to assist the visually
has its limitations. Although it can be used as a impaired is its low cost and security.
desktop, its performance is comparable to a mobile The Raspberry Pi can be connected to the cloud,
device (such as a tablet). According to the which serves as the foundation for the Internet of
Raspberry Pi organization, the overall performance Things and intelligent automation and control of
of the Model B is comparable to a PC with a devices and sensors. According to Baskaran and
300MHz Pentium 2 processor. Graphics Balachander [13], the low cost of the Raspberry Pi
performance is comparable to, if not superior to, the makes it ideal for experimentation. According to
original Xbox gaming system. The Raspberry Pi Rajbongshi et al [14], most text-to-speech libraries
runs Linux as the operating system. There are on the Raspberry Pi are compatible and can be easily
several Linux distributions for Raspberry Pi that can incorporated into Linux applications. Dunai et al
be downloaded from www.raspberrypi.org. [15] underlined that Raspberry Pi based solutions
When connected to peripherals such as a display, are cheaper. According to Akour et al [16], the
keyboard and mouse, the Raspberry Pi can be used Raspberry Pi acts as a server to which other
as a desktop PC; however, what distinguishes the components can be added in the creation of
Raspberry Pi from other desktop computers is that it intelligent systems. According to Ismail et al [17] ,
has GPIO or general purpose input/output pins that Raspberry Pi-based systems are easily scalable. As
can be controlled by software (see Figure 4). As a a result, additional sensors and devices can be added
result, components such as buttons, LEDs and to the system to increase functionality when needed.
motors can be operated using the Raspberry Pi board In this study, the Braille keyboard circuit board
in the same way as a microcontroller. was connected to the Raspberry Pi, allowing the
visually impaired user to enter the alphabet. The
Raspberry Pi is simple to use as it does not require
extensive knowledge of programming. The
Raspberry Pi acts as a controller that controls and
monitors a wide range of system processes [4].
Thanks to logarithms and Python-based coding,
Raspberry Pi produces precise results. If an
electronic Brailler is properly developed, visually
impaired people can use it to help them navigate
Fig. 4 Raspberry Pi GPIO pin outs computers in the same way as sighted people.
II.MATERIALS AND METHOD
There are currently several microcomputers on This paper describes the design of a low-cost
the market for the creation of systems to assist braille-to-text converter using the Proteus
people with disabilities. These devices include the simulation environment. Braille keypads use braille
UP2 Squared, Huawei HiKey 960, ODROID-XU4 cells as six keys that can be pressed simultaneously
and Arduino Uno. However, most of them are either to type a specific letter, word or number based on
very costly or have lower processing speeds and less
336
actual braille combinations. This device can detect USB power supply powers the Raspberry Pi 3. The
which of the six braille keys is pressed, convert the Raspberry Pi detects the key pressed and is suitably
braille characters into alphabetic characters designed to translate braille code into alphabetic
displayed on the corresponding screen and read letters. The LCD display is added so that non-
them aloud. This type of braille is ideal for blind or disabled people who follow what is typed can see
visually impaired students who do not need to learn what data is being typed, rather than visually
the standard "QWERTY" keyboard. impaired users. The audio output is used to provide
This design actively engages students in the a vocalization of the entered character.
learning process while at the same time providing a The Google text-to-speech API converts text to
platform for their writing abilities. Teachers and speech. gTTS (Google Text-to-Speech) is a Python
parents can interact with their visually impaired library and command-line interface for interacting
peers who are not familiar with Braille. Voice with Google Translates' text-to-speech API. This
assistance is also available in the system, enabling API takes text as input and outputs an audio file as
the visually impaired individual to hear and output. After that, the audio file is saved in .mp3
recognize the equivalent alphabetic character of the or .m4a format or some other format. A music
Braille character and be guided through their work. player is then used to play this .mp3 audio file.
The main components of the Brailler system are The buzzer emits a short sound after pressing the
shown in Figure 5. keys or inserting the character in the Braille cell.
This buzzer reminds the user of the sequence of
actions. During the program phases, the user starts
typing in braille code and the software checks the
keys pressed. This mode continues until the user
presses the letter indicator. If the general key is
pressed after the braille code for the character is
written, a buzzer sounds and the character is
displayed on the screen.
The sound is transmitted to the player and the
cycle repeats. Figure 6 shows an overview of the
Fig. 5 Block diagram of the system. design created in the Proteus simulation
environment and includes an LCD display, braille
The keyboard is connected to the Raspberry Pi keyboard, Raspberry Pi, buzzer and power module.
using the system's GPIO inputs. A +5.1V micro

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 Fig. 6 Screenshot of Proteus simulation environment.

compose text and communicate with digital devices

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION using the Braille writing system.
The accuracy and ease of typing on a Braille The user keys a series of Braille codes, each
keyboard is extremely enjoyable for both students representing a different Braille character, and
and teachers compared to a regular keyboard. This engages the data input switch. The Raspberry Pi
technology provides a variety of tools to connect interprets the Braille key input and converts it into
with visually impaired students. Most of such text characters. The Proteus simulation program is
projects are carried out more intensively in poor or used as a virtual environment that allows you to test
third world countries. Consequently, there is a need the efficiency and accuracy of the Raspberry Pi and
for more research on the subject to increase the Braille keyboard.
academic experience, improve the current system This research compares the basic functions of
and advance the current algorithms used. various Braillers and highlights the benefits of this
The Braille keyboard design in this paper aims to design. With the proposed method, the Braille
provide a simple and effective data entry technique keyboard becomes an easier and more practical
for the visually impaired. The aim of the work is to option compared to other systems. The less complex
increase inclusion and accessibility by making it hardware architecture reduces the cost of the device
easier for visually impaired people to connect with and makes it easier to use.
digital tools. To speed up the development and
testing process, the system with Raspberry Pi was Using Raspberry Pi and Proteus simulations, the
tested in Proteus simulation environment. To ensure Braille keyboard is an important step towards
reliability and usability, the simulation environment improving digital interactions for visually impaired
tests and flexibly adjusts the performance of the people. By bridging the gap between traditional
Braille keyboard in real time. Braille writing methods and digital technology, the
aim is to provide a more inclusive and accessible
IV. CONCLUSION digital experience for visually impaired
This Braille keyboard study aims to develop an individuals.
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