AUDIOMOBILITY CARD

Description

Technical field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a mobility map which provides a visually impaired or blind person with structural information about a location, for example the plan of each floor of a building.

[0002] The present invention also relates to a method of manufacturing and using such a mobility map, which can provide a visually impaired person with structural information in a tactile and auditory manner. State of the art

[0003] When a visually impaired person wants to get to a place they don't know by heart, they need the help of a map or plan. Unlike people who can see a map, visually impaired people read a map by touching it. Typically, a tactile map consists of symbols embossed on the surface of a map. US2008 / 0280265 describes a mobility map comprising a series of embossed symbols and / or other pictograms combining Braille and other alphanumeric symbols. These symbols are displayed on a surface and consist of two different panels joined together to form a mobility map or plan.A multi-level hierarchical mobility system is also planned to allow visually impaired people to move freely and orient themselves not only within a structure such as a building, but also within many geographical levels such as states, cities and districts, without losing the structural and / or spatial connection between the different levels.

[0004] The disadvantage of this technology is that the user must memorize the meaning of all the symbols or pictograms on the map in order to read by touching the mobility map without the help of another person. There are no other simple ways for the user to confirm their interpretation of the information presented on the tactile map.

[0005] In addition, the multi-layer structure makes the mobility card heavier, which takes up a lot of space and is not easy to carry everywhere.

[0006] So far, the solution has been to integrate location and audio equipment, such as GPS, into the aforementioned mobility card. However, this solution makes a card too expensive and not affordable for all users. US 2012 / 123784 describes a method for providing sequenced tactile symbols with multiple meanings to produce synthetic word messages comprising words, phrases, and sentences, involving access to a word, phoneme, or word message. Disclosure of the invention

[0007] The present invention relates to a system for spatial representation of regions of interest for a visually impaired or blind person as defined in independent claim 1 as well as the corresponding method as defined in independent claim 3.

[0008] The present invention proposes a new system for assisting a visually impaired or blind person to obtain structural information about an area by associating audio information with each symbol and / or pictogram that they can touch. This is achieved by transforming a pressure signal exerted on a symbol / pictogram into an electronic signal serving as an input signal to an electronic audio box. This electronic audio box plays an audio recording following the action of the user who presses the specific symbol / pictogram.

[0009] At the same time, the present invention aims to use multiple touch boards with the same audio electronic box. The touch boards can be combined or separated from the audio electronic box so that the boards can be stacked together to save space for storage and transportation. To visit different places, the user simply needs to install the appropriate touch board on the audio electronic box.

[0010] Finally, the interaction between the touch plane and the electronic audio box is carried out in a simple way and at an affordable cost for each user.

[0011] The present invention relates to a system for spatial representation of regions of interest for visually impaired people, which comprises: At least one tactile plane comprising an upper surface and a lower surface, the tactile plane having tactile markers on the upper surface and corresponding contact areas on the lower surface, each tactile marker being structurally linked to a region of interest. A keyboard with a matrix of contact points configured to interact with the corresponding contact areas in response to pressure exerted on the tactile plane positioned on the keyboard. An electronic audio box operable by the keyboard, the electronic audio box being provided with a multitude of audio recordings, each audio recording being associated with each tactile marker on the upper surface of said tactile plane.

[0012] In a specific embodiment, the keyboard is a cup-type membrane keyboard, the contact points of the keyboard being provided by cups.

[0013] In one variation, both the touchpad and the electronics box contain a near field communication (NFC) device for identification.

[0014] The present invention also relates to a method of operating a system according to any of the embodiments mentioned above, the method comprising the steps of: installation of a tactile plane by positioning its rear face on the keyboard, identification of the tactile plane installed by the electronic audio box, transformation, by the keyboard, of a pressure applied to a tactile marker of the tactile plane into an electronic signal transmitted to the electronic audio box, and selection of the audio recording associated with the tactile marker, reading, by the electronic box, of the selected audio recordings to provide information on the region of interest corresponding to the pressed tactile marker.

[0015] The present invention also relates to a method of manufacturing a system in which the tactile plane is manufactured by three-dimensional polymer printing technology. Plan

[0016] Other advantages and characteristics will appear in the following detailed description of the embodiments which are in no way limiting, as well as in the attached diagrams, in which: There figure 1 shows a graphical representation of the upper surface of a tactile plane according to one embodiment of the invention. The figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the contact area below the tactile plane. The figure 3 shows the side view of the system including the touch plane, keyboard and electronic audio box. Detailed description of the invention

[0017] A system for spatially representing regions of interest for visually impaired and blind people comprises at least one tactile plane, a keyboard, and an electronic audio box superimposed to form a unit. A physical contact exists between the tactile plane and the keyboard, through which a pressure signal applied to the tactile plane is transferred to the keyboard. The keyboard transforms the received pressure signal into an electronic output signal. Electronic connections exist between the keyboard and the electronic audio box. Each electronic output signal from the keyboard precisely selects a corresponding audio recording in the electronic audio box. The following paragraphs explain in detail the structure and function of each component of the system.

[0018] There figure 1shows an upper surface of a tactile plane according to an exemplary representation of the invention. It is a graphical representation of a building floor. A group of tactile markers, for example symbols and pictograms, show a spatial representation of different regions of the building. The tactile markers are selectively positioned on said tactile plane figure 1 to clearly indicate to a person the spatial relationship between the different regions encountered in this building. A person familiar with the definition of tactile landmarks can touch the floor plan of the figure 1 and understand the positions of rooms, offices, doors and stairs in relation to this building, for example. Even a person, who does not know the meaning of the symbols, can understand the plan by pressing the tactile markers and listening to the explanation of the meaning linked to each one.

[0019] For illustration purposes, the circles 12 of the figure 1 represent the information panels that a person can find on the building wall. The lines represent shared or divided closed rooms or offices. Symbol 13 represents an elevator and consists of an engraved 4-sided polygon with a cross-shaped element inside. Symbol 14 represents a door and consists of an engraved half-arc, which represents the door's direction of rotation. Symbol 15 represents stairs and consists of thick parallel bars.

[0020] There figure 2is a sectional view of the structural details of the touch plane. A symbol area 21 is raised on top of the surface and is generally 10×10mm in size to provide a pleasant touch sensation. Under the symbol area 21 is a bearing plane 22 with a thickness between 0.2 and 0.4mm, which provides good strength of the bearing plane and flexibility to bend under pressure. Under the bearing plane 22 is a cylindrical hollow area 23 to provide good flexibility to the bearing plane. In the middle of the hollow area 23, there is a dumbbell-shaped contact area 24. This contact area 24 is composed of two parts, a trapezoidal-shaped column 241 to keep good flexibility of the symbol area, and a disc 242 at the bottom of the trapezoid to achieve easy positioning relative to the keyboard.The diameter of the disc is smaller than the size of the symbol area, but large enough to have good positioning tolerance relative to the keyboard.

[0021] Manufacturing the tactile surface using three-dimensional (3D) printing technology is a real advantage. More specifically, there are at least two types of 3D printing technologies suitable for manufacturing the tactile surface: one based on the material supplied in the form of threads, the other based on the material supplied in the form of granules. In the first technique, the material is in the form of a coil of threads, which is loaded and melted in a nozzle and deposited on a platen layer by layer. The second technique uses the material in the form of small beads, or granules, which are injected onto the surface of the tactile surface. The polymer material can be, for example, nylon, which is a good candidate because it has a certain flexibility while retaining its shape.Nylon may be loaded with short carbon fibers to improve the rigidity of the plane and to improve the interaction between the plane and the keyboard located below it, following the pressure exerted with the finger on the plane. Other materials may also be used as long as they fulfill the aforementioned function. This tactile plane is manufactured with a thickness of 0.4-2 mm, preferably 1 mm to give a high flexibility around the tactile markers so that when pressure is applied to a tactile marker, the region around this tactile marker can be easily bent downwards to transfer the pressure to the keyboard positioned below the tactile plane.

[0022] The following paragraph explains the interaction between the touch plane and the electronic audio box via the keyboard. figure 3 shows the side view of the system including the touch plane 1, the keyboard 2 and the audio electronics box 3.

[0023] There is a two-level identification between the tactile map and the electronic audio box: the first level is to identify the tactile map and the second level is to identify a symbol on this tactile map. This two-level identification makes it possible to locate a specific region on the mobility map, for example, a specific office on a specific floor of a building.

[0024] The first level of identification is for the recognition of a series of similar places, for example, different levels of a building, or different sections connected to passages. A plurality of tactile maps are produced, each tactile map being encoded with a different pictogram or Braille code to be recognized by touch.

[0025] For communication with the electronic audio box, each touchpad integrates a Near Field Communication (NFC) chip. As soon as a touchpad is installed on an electronic audio box, the pad is automatically identified by the electronic audio box, which is also equipped with an NFC chip.

[0026] The electronic audio box has a memory to store multiple audio recordings; each recording is associated with a touch plane. Upon identifying a specific touch plane, the associated audio recording is selected and loaded to be active in the electronic audio box. This saves loading time for playback of the recording once the second level of identification has been performed.

[0027] The second level of identification is for the recognition of a specific region on a tactile plane. The pressure signal received from the tactile marker of the tactile plane is transformed into an electronic signal and transmitted to the electronic audio box to select a specific recording from the set of active audio recordings. The electronic audio box plays the selected audio recording.

[0028] Signal transformation and transmission are achieved by the interaction between the tactile plane and a keyboard. The surface of the tactile plane can be divided as a two-dimensional (2D) matrix, with each marker on the upper face of the tactile plane associated with a contact area below the tactile plane, corresponding to a node of the 2D matrix.

[0029] The keyboard is also equipped with a two-dimensional matrix of contact points, with each contact point located at a node of the matrix. The touch plane matrix and the keyboard matrix overlap so that under the contact area 24 of each symbol, there is a corresponding contact point on the keyboard. When a symbol is pressed on the touch plane, the symbol area bends and creates contact between the contact area of ​​the touch plane and the contact area of ​​the keyboard. The keyboard selects an audio recording from the audio electronic box describing the region represented by the symbol pressed on the touch plane.

[0030] A dome keyboard is used here for several advantages: reliability, speed, and tactile feel. The dome keyboard has proven to be highly robust in the environment and to react quickly to applied pressure. In addition, it is integrated into the electronics, which allows for a custom, modular product to be manufactured at a reasonable price.

[0031] The dome keyboard has a sandwich structure with different layers stacked from top to bottom. The upper and lower outer layers are made of rubber or silicone to prevent moisture. Once sealed, they make the keyboard waterproof. Between the membranes are the upper and lower circuit planes 35 and 36, the contact between which provides information on the signal location. And between the circuit planes is a spacer layer 37 with either an individual dome 38 located at the openings of the spacer layer or an array of connected domes. Since each layer can be manufactured with a very thin thickness, this technology has the advantage of allowing the production of thin keyboards with reduced key pitches.

[0032] The domes have the property of being deformed under finger pressure and returning to their shape as soon as the pressure is released. The keypad dome allows confirmation of contact by tactile sensation. Pressure exerted on the dome instantly triggers contact between the upper and lower circuit planes. In addition, this type of keypad can be used in various high-stress applications, such as in areas requiring strength and sealing.

[0033] The keyboard is placed on a 0.8-1.5 mm thick aluminum surface to have a flat and rigid surface.

[0034] When a user enters a building, they can place the ground floor touch map on the audio electronic box. When they press the symbol representing the entrance, the pressure signal received at this symbol is transmitted to the keyboard. The user then perceives the deformation and reformation of the corresponding dome. The pressure signal on the dome is transmitted to an electronic signal that selects an audio recording corresponding to the ground floor entrance of this building. For example, the sound may correspond to a sentence: "This is the ground floor entrance, in front of a corridor, on the left an office and on the right a staircase."

[0035] As the user follows the stairs to the second floor, they can recognize the second floor touch map by touching a specific region where there is a specific code, for example, the Braille code. When they install the second floor touch map on the audio electronic box and press the entry symbol, the touch map is identified by the box and the symbol pressing signal is transmitted. They hear the sound: "This is the entrance to the second floor, in front of a corridor, on the left an office and on the right a staircase."

[0036] The present invention relates not only to a portable mobility map, but also to a large-format mobility map fixed in the building. The large-format mobility maps can be fixed to a piece of furniture at various locations on the floor or on a wall, for example at the entrance, before and after each staircase, each elevator. These large-format mobility maps have the same function, which provides the visually impaired or blind with structural information about the building in a tactile and auditory manner.

Claims

1. System for spatial representation of regions of interest for a visually impaired or blind person, comprising the following elements: - At least one tactile map (1) comprising a top surface and a bottom surface, the tactile map (1) having tactile reference marks (12, 13, 14, 15) on the top surface and corresponding contact areas on the bottom surface, each tactile reference mark being structurally connected to a region of interest, - A keyboard (2) with a matrix of contact points configured to come into contact with the corresponding contact areas (24) in response to pressure exerted on the tactile map (1) positioned on the keyboard, - An electronic audio box (3) which can be actuated by the keyboard (2), the electronic audio box (3) being provided with a multitude of audio recordings, each audio recording being associated with each tactile reference mark on the top surface of the tactile map (1), the system for spatial representation of regions of interest being in the form of a mobility card, the tactile map and the electronic box both contain a near-field communication (NFC) device for two-level identification between the tactile map and the electronic audio box: the first level being to identify the tactile map and the second level is to identify a symbol on this tactile map.

2. System according to claim 1, wherein the keyboard is a cap membrane keyboard, the contact points of the keyboard being produced by caps.

3. Method for operating a system according to any one of the preceding claims, the method comprising the steps of: - installing a tactile map by positioning its rear face on the keyboard, - identifying the tactile map installed by the electronic audio box, - transforming, by the keyboard, of a pressure applied on a tactile reference mark of the tactile map into an electronic signal transmitted to the electronic audio box, and selecting the audio recording associated with the tactile reference mark, - reading, by the electronic box, audio recordings selected to provide information about the region of interest corresponding to the pressed tactile reference mark.

4. Method for manufacturing a system according to claims 1 to 3, wherein the tactile map is made by polymer three-dimensional printing technology.