Braille Learning using Haptic Feedback

Learning braille can have a significant impact on the development of blind children. Braille enables visually impaired students to communicate through writing rather than losing that method of communication altogether, empowering them to develop independence, learn strong reading and writing skills, and challenge students to participate in more social and educational activities. Beyond the child’s needs, parents need to learn Braille to communicate with their children to ease the child’s sense of isolation. Learning Braille takes time to master, and it is a limited resource for parents of children with visual impairments. However, our research explores the use of passive haptic learning to improve the braille learning system for parents by reducing the burden of time to make a difference in this population’s lives. The research aims to understand the impact passive haptic learning has on learning rate, proficiency, and recall rate while learning Braille. Using a wearable haptic glove that indicates which keys on a brailling machine the user should press, we will assess the efficacy of this approach. A user study was conducted to determine whether haptic vibrations contribute to more effective learning than memorizing the braille system. The user study involved a series of flashcards to learn the braille letters and cells, combined with a test on a simulated brailling machine to ensure users could type the correct letters. Some participants received haptic feedback during the typing phase, while others conducted the study with no haptic feedback. Participants’ accuracy, speed, and recall were measured in a follow-up session.