Optical Braille Recognition: Final Year Project Report [CSC404] 

Abstract

Technology has shown great promise in providing access to textual information for
visually impaired people. Optical Braille Recognition (OBR) allows people with
visual impairments to read volumes of typewritten documents with the help of flatbed
scanners and OBR software. This project looks at developing a system to recognize
an image of embossed Braille and then convert it to text. It particularly aims to build
fully functional Optical Braille Recognition system. It has two main tasks, first is to
recognize printed Braille cells, and second is to convert them to regular text.
Converting Braille to text is not simply a one to one mapping, because one cell may
represent one symbol (alphabet letter, digit, or special character), two or more
symbols, or part of a symbol. Moreover, multiple cells may represent a single symbol.
Optical Braille Recognition is an application software that allows to "read" Braille
documents with a standard scanner. The retrieved information is presented as the text
that can be used in all types of Windows applications.
Braille code is a writing system which enables blind and partially sighted people to
read and write through touch. It consists of patterns of raised dots arranged in cells of
up to six dots in a 3 x 2 configuration.
People who work with Blind people and does not read Braille will benefit from using
the OBR. For example: teachers who do not read Braille, public organizations
communicating with Blind individuals and Computerized Braille Libraries. With the
advent of OBR we can digitize the Braille documents the books. The duplication of
the Braille books and other papers helps other people understand and learn.