Helen Keller Phone—a communication system for deaf-blind people using Body-Braille and Skype

We introduce and demonstrate the “Helen Keller Phone” system, which enables deaf-blind people to communicate with each other without any support person and talk over the telephone for free with Skype. All communication is done via Body-Braille and is analogous to audio chat communication by non-disabled people. Real-time conversation using Braille instead of audio signals is possible and would dramatically improve deaf-blind people´s quality of life. The Body-Braille system, which presents one Braille cell using six micro vibrators, has been introduced twice in previous CCNCs. This time we will present newly developed equipment which is very small and portable and includes a new presentation method for Braille cells using only two vibrators, called the “two point system”. This new equipment makes portable use possible. We will demonstrate Braille-based communication through Skype, where one user is at home, the other is on the road.