Attention Makers

CATEGORY: ACCESSIBILITY

Smart keypad for speech-impaired - Tongue Talk Technology (TTT)

MAKERS: Rachen , Raghul , Ruban Raj COUNTRY: India

An Assistive Technology which allows the wearers to type letters using their tongue and produces a sound through a speaker, control a wheelchair or even speak sentences!!!

 

The Purpose

The current Assistive Technologies (AT) available in the market are bulky, expensive, and causes fatigue over long usage, causing discomfort to the users. TTT enables mute/speech-impaired, especially for those who cannot move their torso or limbs but can move their head, to communicate by means of tongue input. We are also providing mobile application so that the users can customize the characters and sentences, send text message automatically via Bluetooth, control home appliances, wheelchair etc. Since tongue movement does not cause fatigue, in most cases, this is far more advantageous than present technologies assisting the speech-impaired.

The Technology

The basic principle behind TTT is that touch sensors, insulated from saliva, are placed on the inner periphery of the teeth. The sensors are basically a resistive divider network whose voltage drop corresponds to a character. Each sensor on the teeth is assigned a particular character, say 'a' or a sentence like 'Help me!'. When the wearer touches a tooth sensor using tongue, the corresponding character is sent wirelessly to a speaker positioned comfortably anywhere on wearer's body. Once the spacebar key is pressed using the tongue, the word is output from the speaker.

Additional Details

Our TTT is simpler, smaller yet stronger in its application: 1. Users can customize the characters and sentences, send text message etc. through our mobile app 2. Tongue movement does not cause fatigue and so no discomfort 3. It is cheaper, lighter and portable than other technologies 4. Users can operate wheelchairs, mobile phones, computers etc. Our project is suitable for people with 1. Muteness 2. Hearing-impairment 3. Wheelchair impairment 4. Muscular dystrophy 5. Motor neuron disease 6. Mobility impairment (non-working limbs and/or torso) etc

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