PC-based braille reading system

This study aims to aid the visually-impaired people by creating a system that is an alternative to braille translated books. The system is capable of translating text from a captured image to braille. The image, which is captured by a self-triggering camera but can also be operated manually, will be sent to the PC through a USB cable. An open-source Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is obtained to extract text from the image. The OCR is integrated in a GUI. The translated text will be sent to a PIC microcontroller through USB to UART. The PIC microcontroller will drive the braille reading device by converting the text to braille equivalent characters. This braille reading system is a reliable alternative to braille translated books for it has an option where the reader can choose between word-per-word mode or continuous mode of reading. Also, the system achieved an overall accuracy around 90%. With this technology, the visually impaired people will be given a chance to widen their knowledge and explore further on what the world has to offer