SBIR-STTR Award

In this Phase l proposal we plan to develop and test a new vision technology to locat and read general informational signs (street names, building directories, office door plates) and location and directional signs (EXIT, Information, aisle signs in supermarkets). To strengthen feasibility, we will target a restricted class of signs: those consisting primarily of one- color text on a different one-color background, and whose shape falls within a prescribed set. The intended market is for people who are blind or whose sight is impaired and hence cannot read these signs unaided. Our approach makes extensive use of recently developed computer vision recognition algorithms. We also make use of the Smith-Kettlewell's Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center's expertise for determining what the potential users will require from such a system. The ultimate goal, for Phase II, is to build and test a highly portable PC- based device implementing this vision technology using a CCD camera as input and a voice-generator as output. The user would scan/point the device at a scene and it would locate and read one or more signs. Given the pace of increase in power and decrease in size of computing devices, a hand-held Sign-Finder system may be plausible to build entirely with commercial, off-the-shelf hardware in two to three years. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: The potential utility to blind and visually impaired individuals is great; a commercial product could have a market potential of 500,000.

We propose to build a device that enhances the mobility of visually impaired persons by finding and reading signs aloud without the need for infrastructure beyond ordinary signs. Using new computer vision techniques, it will detect and read text in images captured by a camera worn like a pendant around the user's neck. We will build two commercially viable, self-contained consumer versions, a $1,500 device using consumer computers and cameras, and a $750 proprietary device. In typical use, a wearer will select a mode (city street, supermarket) by pressing buttons and optionally speaking commands, and then either point the device at a scene, or scan the scene using auto-repeat image capture. The device will find and read signs, but only output audio for signs relevant to the mode. The Phase II work plan has three tracks: 1) Computer vision software development and testing, 2) Human interface design and development, and 3) development and testing of the two forms of the device. Continuing our collaboration from Phase I, we use Smith-Kettlewell's Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center's expertise for human factors. Bolton Engineering will design and build the proprietary device hardware.

Thesaurus Terms:
assistive device /technology, blind aid, computer human interaction, computer system design /evaluation blindness, functional ability clinical research, human subject, medical rehabilitation related tag, questionnaire