Low Cost Device for Blind Persons Will Ease Daily Living

by Marc Krizack (krizack@sfsu.edu)
 

A device whose prototype costs only US$14.95, is made from items that can be purchased at a Radio Shack and a hardware store, and whose production model is estimated will only cost from US$3 to US$5, could provide significant help for people who are blind.

Biomedical engineers from the University of Southern California have built a prototype of a talking label so blind persons who do not know braille can know the contents of small containers, such as medicine bottles and other containers that cannot be distinguished by touch, such as milk and juice cartoons.  The device, known as an "E-Label", is touted by its creators as a low-cost and easy-to-use-way to allow those who are not Braille literate to have greater independence.

Only 10% of blind people in the US can read Braille, making a product such as the ScotchTM (Braille) Labeler of no use to the vast majority of blind persons. A second product currently on the market, the Magnetic Strip Recorder, can not be used on small objects.  The Magnetic Strip Recorder is a 10"x7" device that records up to ten seconds of a message and stores it on a magnetic strip affixed to a 10"x3" card . In order to read the card, the user must remove the card from the item and insert it into the Recorder/Player. Besides the hassle of having to do this every time you want to know the contents of a container, the removable card is subject to falling off and getting lost.  One of its best uses is for labeling long term storage boxes. It costs $80.

The E-Label, on the other hand, is small enough to fit on the side of a small plastic medicine bottle, the kind that you get from the pharmacy with a plastic childproof cap.  It is inexpensive and accommodates virtually every single blind person, Braille literate or not, because it records a person's own voice for labeling.

The Electronic Talking Label consists of a recordable microchip that digitally stores any audio up to ten seconds.  A person can record the contents of a medicine bottle and the prescribed dosage, for example, in her own voice rather than in a synthesized voice. Since the microchip is re-recordable, the user can record a new message over an old message and use the device again and again.

The E-Label can operate in  temperatures as low as  32°F (0°C).  This means that the device, which also includes its own miniature microphone and speaker, can be attached by velcro to a container such as food or medicine which is stored in the refrigerator.  Its maximum operating temperature is 104°F (40°C).  The prototype uses four button cell Type 76 batteries that last approximately a year with reasonable use (6 times per day) and cost less than $2 to replace. An optional pressure sensor which would add $8 to the price of the unit, is available for people who have difficulty pressing small buttons or who have no sensation in their finger tips, a common problem with diabetics.

The recordable device used for the prototype costs US$14.95 from Radio Shack.  Similar, but smaller recording devices found in holiday/birthday cards and jewelry cases cost between US$1.00 and US$3.00 and require one battery to operate, leading the inventors to believe that the device can be commercially sold for less than US$5.00.

For additional information, contact Hoang-Yen Ho at hth@usc.edu.