EPA
Team members:
- Henry Au-Yeung
- Khushboo Verma
- Devon Dallman
- Jonathan Persinger
- Jonathan Snyder
The project we hope to implement will positively impact visually impaired. The project is titled Electronic Pin Aid (EPA). This will give the ability for the visually impaired to feel a page of Braille text and other three-dimensional pictures by manipulating an array of pins. Because the visually impaired are accustomed to using the computer for aid we will have the PC interact with the EPA to obtain the text and images. The text and pictures will upload to a computer and then display on the array of pins via serial communications either RS232 or USB. This project will require a USB transceiver, a micro controller and perhaps an image processing chipset. To actuate the pins a power supply will have to be designed (or purchased) and a driver circuit will have to be designed using either MOSFETs or relays. An array of solenoids connected to the driver circuit will magnetically move the pins. For use as a picture display, extensive software programming will be required to interpret the pixels and translate them for both location and pin depth.