RU2727885C1 - Method of orientation in space of people with impaired visual functions by means of cane with tactile shield-shell - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: meeting human vital needs; data processing.

SUBSTANCE: group of inventions relates to orientation systems and can be used in orientation systems for blind and visually impaired people. Method for orientation in space of people with impaired visual functions using a cane with a touch screen-shell is that a stick is mounted in a reading device, which in continuous mode reads information on the surrounding space and transmits the image stream simultaneously to the pattern recognition system and the microcontroller, where the images are transformed into a monochrome view, removing small objects not obstructing movement of the person, and noise, and the image is converted into a more contrast, tactile signals are formed and the contrast image is transmitted to the human skin surface using a touch screen made in the form of a cane handle shell, the contrast ratio is adjusted by the blind person using the control elements mounted in the handle, simultaneously, the image stream is transmitted to the pattern recognition system, the pattern recognition system containing the surrounding objects database is downloaded via GPS over the Internet and/or by pre-loading and in a stream image recognizes, identifies surrounding space objects coinciding with database objects, information on recognized objects is transmitted in the form of tactile signals to the human skin surface with braille code and/or symbols. Walking cane with a touch screen-shell, consisting of a tube and located in the upper part of the handle, with a tactile shield-shell, in which are mounted connected to each other video camera, installed on the handle cane end, with infrared mode of operation and directed along the motion of a blind person, in the side surface of the handle there are control elements in the form of switches and/or a joystick, an image recognition system comprising a database of objects of the surrounding space, and a microcontroller connected to a power supply located in the cane tube.

EFFECT: group of inventions provides expansion of functional capabilities of device due to fast perception of shape, size of objects and information on objects.

2 cl, 7 dwg

Description

The invention relates to the field of orientation systems and can be used in orientation systems for blind and visually impaired people.

A known method of orienting a blind person and a device for its implementation [Patent for invention RU 2451501, publ .: 27.05.2012, Bul. No. 15, Shapiro VA], which consists in the fact that a wheel with a fork and a GPS receiver are installed on the cane of a blind person, in which the coordinates of the route of the movement of a blind person are set and, according to the difference between the given and real coordinates, they can correct the position of the person and set the direction correct movement. The use of the proposed method and device makes it possible to simplify the orientation of a blind person, however, a blind person does not receive information describing the surrounding space and objects encountered, and therefore is not able to independently decide on the safety of movement.

There are tactile Braille screens, in which the display space is organized in the form of movable elements, which allows blind and visually impaired people to be shown various text information using Braille [Electronic resource: Available URL http://dostupsreda.ru/store/dlya_invalidov_po_zreniyu/taktilnye_displei_braylya/ (access date 22.04.2018)].

There are tactile screens Tanvas Touch [Electronic resource: Official website of the company Tanvas URL https://tanvas.co/ (accessed 22.04.2018)] which, when touched, simulate the sensation of a specific physical surface, such as fabric, wave, sand, etc. At CES 2017, Tanvas showed a prototype of such a screen on a Nexus 9 tablet model. Unlike a braille screen, this is not a vibration or protrusion technology, but an electromagnetic pulse emitting technology that creates a more precise touch feeling.

The prototype of the invention is the method used in the invention [Application: 94037985/14, 28.09.1994, Date of publication of the application: 10.08.1996, Pechkin D.Yu.], which works as follows: using a reading device, an image of the surrounding space is obtained, the picture of the surrounding space into a system of points, and form tactile signals of varying intensity, which are transmitted to the surface of human skin. From these impulses, a person mentally forms a picture of the surrounding space. The disadvantages of this method include the difficulty of recognizing objects in the surrounding world and insufficient information content.

The prototype of the device for implementing the method is a cane, which [Utility model patent RU 157314, publ .: 27.11.2015 Byul. No. 33, Pilin VA, Petlenko OV] consists of a hollow tube and a handle, inside the tube there are light sources with a power source, and a speaker and buttons for controlling the speaker's sound signals are mounted in the handle. The device signals the presence of an obstacle on the road, however, the disadvantage of the device is that it does not give an idea of the nature of the obstacle and the environment.

The aim of the invention is to develop a method and device for orientation in space of people with visual impairment, providing fast and accurate recognition of objects in the surrounding space.

The technical objective of the invention is to expand the functionality of the device due to the rapid perception of the shape, size of objects and information about objects.

This goal is achieved by the fact that the proposed method of orientation in space for people with visual impairment using a cane with a tactile screen-shell and consists in the fact that a reader is mounted in the handle of the cane, which continuously reads information about the surrounding space and transmits the flow images simultaneously to the image recognition system and to the microcontroller, where the images are transformed into a monochrome form, small objects that do not interfere with human movement and noise are removed, and the image is converted into a more contrasting one, tactile signals are formed and a contrast image is transmitted to the surface of the human skin using tactile screen, made in the form of a cane handle shell, the degree of contrast is adjusted by a blind person using controls mounted in the handle, at the same time the image stream is transmitted to the pattern recognition system, the pattern recognition system containing a data on objects of the surrounding space, loaded using GPS via the Internet and / or by preloading and in the streaming image recognizes, identifies objects of the surrounding space that coincide with the objects of the database, information about the recognized objects is transmitted in the form of tactile signals to the surface of the human skin in cipher braille and / or conventions.

A cane with a tactile screen-shell consists of a tube in the upper part, which contains a handle, with a tactile screen-shell in which a reader is mounted connected to each other, located at the end of the cane handle and directed in the direction of movement of a blind person, control elements mounted in the side a handle surface in the form of switches and / or a joystick connected to a pattern recognition system containing a database of objects in the surrounding space, and a microcontroller and a power source located in the cane tube.

The invention is illustrated by drawings:

fig. 1 shows a general view of a cane with a tactile screen-shell for people with visual impairment, where 1 is a cane handle, 2 is a cane tube, 3 is a reader;

fig. 2 cane controls with a tactile shell for people with visual impairments;

fig. 3 - block diagram of the connection of control elements of a cane with a tactile screen-shell for people with visual impairment, where 4 is a power supply, 3 is a reader, 5 is a microcontroller, 7 is a pattern recognition system, 6 is controls, 8 is a tactile screen - shell;

fig. 4 - image of objects from the reader;

fig. 5 - contrast image of the object,

fig. 6 is a general view of the tactile screen-shell;

fig. 7 - scan of the tactile screen-shell with a contrasting image.

The method of orientation in space of people with visual impairment using a cane with a tactile screen-shell (Fig. 2) consists in the fact that a reader (3) is mounted in the handle (1) of the cane with a tactile screen-shell (8), which constantly reads information about the surrounding space and transmits the stream of images simultaneously to the pattern recognition system (7) and to the microcontroller (5), where the images are transformed into a monochrome form, small objects that do not interfere with human movement and noise are removed, and the image is converted into a more contrasting one , tactile signals are formed and the contrast image is transmitted to the surface of the human skin, using a tactile screen-shell (8), made in the form of a cane handle shell, the degree of contrast is adjusted by a blind person using control elements (6) mounted in the handle (1), at the same time, the image stream is transmitted to the pattern recognition system (7), the system of races image cognition (7), contains a database about objects of the surrounding space, is loaded using GPS via the Internet and / or by preloading and in a streaming image recognizes, identifies objects of the surrounding space that coincide with the objects of the database, information about the recognized objects is transmitted in the form tactile signals to the surface of human skin in braille and / or conventional symbols through a tactile screen-shell.

A cane with a tactile screen-shell consists of a tube (2) in the upper part, which has a handle (1), with a tactile screen-shell (8) into which a reader (3) connected to each other is mounted, located at the end of the handle of the cane with a tactile screen - a shell (8) and directed in the direction of movement of a blind person, controls (6) mounted in the lateral surface of the handle in the form of switches and / or a joystick, connected to a pattern recognition system (7) containing a database of objects in the surrounding space loaded with using GPS via the Internet and / or by preloading both a microcontroller (5) and a power supply (4) located in the tube (2) of the reed with a tactile screen-shell (8). A video camera or other device for reading information can be used as a reading device. The reader can operate in infrared mode, laser mode, etc. Communication and information transfer from the reader to the microcontroller and the recognition system can be carried out in wired mode and wirelessly, for example, via WiFi, Bluetooth, infrared, etc.

The cane works as follows: the video camera (3) continuously reads information about the surrounding space and transmits the stream of images simultaneously to the microcontroller (5) and to the pattern recognition system (7). In the microcontroller (5) the image is transformed into a monochrome form (Fig. 4), small objects that do not interfere with human movement and noise are removed. The microcontroller (5) converts the monochrome image into a more contrasting one (Fig. 5). The degree of contrast is adjusted by a blind person using the controls (6). Tactile signals and a contrast image are formed with the help of a tactile screen-shell, and are transmitted to the surface of human skin. The design of the screen in the form of a cane handle shell (Fig. 6) allows a blind person to feel contact with the screen along the surface of the palm and fingers, because the hand of a blind person is in contact with the tactile screen, since the hand covers the cane handle at the location of the tactile screen-shell ...

At the same time, the image stream is transmitted to the pattern recognition system (7). The pattern recognition system (7) contains a database of objects in the surrounding space, such as objects, plants, animals and people, rivers, lakes. The database can be linked to a map of the area, the location of a person and downloaded using GPS over the Internet or by preloading.

In the pattern recognition system (7) in the stream image, objects of the surrounding space are recognized and identified, which coincide with objects from the database, after which information about the recognized objects is transmitted in the form of tactile signals to the surface of the human skin using a braille cipher or conventional symbols through a tactile screen-shell. Thus, a person simultaneously receives an image of the area with updated data in the form of text or conventional symbols describing the surrounding space. For example, a blind person stands at a bus stop and feels the appearance of a large object resembling a bus on a tactile shell screen. At the same time, information is generated on the tactile shell screen, which is recognized using the database of the pattern recognition system (7) and tells it the bus number, the name of the next stop, etc. or indicates that it is a truck. Thus, a blind person, standing alone at a bus stop, is able to independently determine the route number and the location of the bus doors without assistance. Also, a blind person gets the opportunity to identify familiar people, when they approach, before they talk to him.

Information from the pattern recognition system (7) can be located on a tactile shell screen formed from an image stream received by a video camera (3) and / or another reading device and transmitted to the tactile shell screen through a microcontroller (5). Thus, tactile signals are formed on the tactile screen-shell, reflecting the main information received directly from the video camera (3) and / or the reader and additional information that has been processed in the pattern recognition system. Additional information transmitted in the form of tactile signals may be different from the tactile signals of the main information. For example, information about the location of a traffic light is transmitted by convex elements of a tactile screen, and a luminous traffic signal is transmitted by vibration. Colors that are important for describing an object can be transmitted by the same conventional signals.

The scan of the tactile screen-shell (Fig. 7) is a rectangle. The ratio of the width and length of the scan of the shell screen coincides with the ratio of the width and length of the image transmitted from the video camera in order to exclude image distortion.

The tactile screen-shell can be made with movable elements that create a relief image due to vibration or protruding elements. The tactile screen-shell can be made using the technology of emission of electromagnetic pulses, which creates sensations when touched. The tactile screen-shell can be made using any technology that makes it possible to effectively feel the changes taking place on the screen surface. If necessary, the image displayed on the tactile screen can be moved back frame-by-frame, scrolled forward, enlarged, etc. using the controls (6), since the microcontroller (5) performs the functions of removing small objects, adjusting the contrast, freezing, viewing previous frames, and other standard functions of a video camera.

The controls (6), among other things, regulate the process of turning the cane on, off, switching to sleep or interactive mode, etc. The cane contains a video camera (5) with an infrared mode of operation, for better orientation of a blind person in the dark.

The proposed cane with a tactile screen-shell allows a blind person to get an idea of the shape of surrounding objects and provides an opportunity to better navigate in the surrounding space, since the hands, according to Sechenov, are able to independently and quite adequately reflect the following categories of features: shape, size, direction, distance, corporeality, rest and movement. With the help of sight and touch, a person records a number of the same physical, spatial and temporal characteristics of objects. Practice shows that with a certain amount of training, a blind person quickly learns Braille, i.e. masters the skills of tactile vision. Known relief drawings for blind patients, which allow you to quickly understand the shape and size of objects, but they are stationary. Therefore, the use of a cane with a tactile screen-shell in the mode of demonstrating the stream of images from a video camera and / or other reading device allows a blind person to have an idea of the surrounding space in dynamics.

Claims (2)

1. A method of orientation in space of people with visual impairment using a cane with a tactile screen-shell, which consists in the fact that a reader is mounted in the handle of the cane, which continuously reads information about the surrounding space and transmits the stream of images simultaneously to the pattern recognition system and to the microcontroller, where the images are transformed into a monochrome form, small objects that do not interfere with human movement are removed, and noises are removed, and the image is converted into a more contrasting one, tactile signals are formed and a contrast image is transmitted to the human skin surface using a tactile screen made in the form the shell of the cane handle, the degree of contrast is adjusted by a blind person using controls mounted in the handle, at the same time the image stream is transmitted to the pattern recognition system, the pattern recognition system containing a database of objects in the surrounding space a, is loaded using GPS via the Internet and / or by preloading and in the streaming image recognizes and identifies objects in the surrounding space that coincide with the objects in the database, information about the recognized objects is transmitted in the form of tactile signals to the surface of the human skin using the braille cipher and / or conventional notation. 2. A cane with a tactile screen-shell according to claim 1, consisting of a tube, in the upper part of which there is a handle, with a tactile screen-shell, into which a reader connected to each other is mounted, located at the end of the handle of the cane and directed in the direction of the blind person a person, control elements mounted in the side surface of the handle in the form of switches and / or a joystick, connected to a pattern recognition system containing a database of environmental objects, and a microcontroller, and a power source located in the cane tube.

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