Jusoor: AWearable communication device for the Deaf-Blind

Abstract

This project revolves around the ideation and partial prototype implementation of a wearable communication device for the deafblind; particularly, those who are both non-speaking and with severe enough deaf-blindness to be only touch-reliant for communication are considered. The team aimed to conceive a device that is small, easy to carry, unobstructive, and also allows such individuals to communicate independently and spontaneously. Thus, this paper presents a bracelet-or-watch shaped device idea that relies on Morse-Code. Among other features, the device offers a "Morse"button that the deaf-blind user can click to input a Morse-Code message; then, a "Send"button is used to transform their sentence to both outputted text and speech. On the other side of the conversation, the listener is ideated to record their reply with a "Record"button and the same "Send"button is used to transform their message to Morse-Code vibrations against the user's wrist and text on the device's screen. This project is an ideation-themed capstone with the aim of further inspiring work and research in the deafblind assistive technology area, not building a product. The authors are a supervising faculty member and undergraduate students from Abu Dhabi University, UAE, who have worked on this project in partial fulfillment for their respective degrees. © 2021 Association for Computing Machinery.

Keywords Assistive Technology, Communication Devices, Deaf-Blind, Dual Sensory Impairment, Wearable Technology