Braille box: analysis of the parallelism concept to access graphic information for blind people

According to the parallelism concept, the more sensors we use, the more precisely and easily we could access information. The "Braille Box" has been developed by modifying Braille cells to form an array of tactile stimulators which is compatible with the fingertip. Each pin can be controlled independently so that we can change the size and type of array to study the tactile perception of simple and more complex graphical shapes and therefore control the parallelism of inputs in this visual-tactile perception device. The result from the experiment with 25 subjects shows us that the quality of perception is influenced by the characteristic of array. The main result is that the form detection is made easier with a multiple sensor array rather than with the mono sensor array. Some other parameters, such as the type of form, the strategy of exploration, also influence the recognition performance. Further experiments need to be done with this Braille Box in order to improve this device and help blind people to access graphic information.