Microprogramming and microprocessors in the Netherlands

This paper gives a short survey of the activities in the field of microprocessors and microprogramming in the Netherlands. In the first part of it the activies within the Universities and non commercial institutes are mentioned. The second part deals with the industrial activity. The author is aware of the incompleteness of the survey. The reason for it is twofold. First; Some of the activies, especially in the industrie, have confidential aspects. The information may not yet appear in a paper like this. Second; He is not aware of all activities carried out in the field. A list of names of the institutes etcand eventual contactpersons is included. A literature list is not added, because not much literature is available now

A multi modal interface for a visually impaired pupils educational environment

The aim of this paper is to describe a multi modal user interface integrated within an architecture allowing visually impaired pupils and sighted people to work on the same station. This architecture is developed to face the problem of the inclusion of visually impaired pupils in mainstream education. The system is able to display the same original multi-media content converted in different ways on screen, Braille terminal and vocal synthesizers. It accepts various interactions from keyboard, Braille bar and mouse. Both blind and sighted users can manage the same tools, cooperate together on the same content, and thus perform the same activities. Blind pupils may be assisted by sighted teachers or tutors that don’t know how to read Braille characters

Hardware-based text-to-braille translation

Braille, as a special written method of communication for the blind, has been globally accepted for years. It gives blind people another chance to learn and communicate more efficiently with the rest of the world. It also makes possible the translation of printed languages into a written language which is recognisable for blind people. Recently, Braille is experiencing a decreasing popularity due to the use of alternative technologies, like speech synthesis. However, as a form of literacy, Braille is still playing a significant role in the education of people with visual impairments. With the development of electronic technology, Braille turned out to be well suited to computer-aided production because of its coded forms. Software based text-to-Braille translation has been proved to be a successful solution in Assistive Technology (AT). However, the feasibility and advantages of the algorithm reconfiguration based on hardware implementation have rarely been substantially discussed. A hardware-based translation system with algorithm reconfiguration is able to supply greater throughput than a software-based system. Further, it is also expected as a single component integrated in a multi-functional Braille system on a chip.Therefore, this thesis presents the development of a system for text-to-Braille translation implemented in hardware. Differing from most commercial methods, this translator is able to carry out the translation in hardware instead of using software. To find a particular translation algorithm which is suitable for a hardware-based solution, the history of, and previous contributions to Braille translation are introduced and discussed. It is concluded that Markov systems, a formal language theory, were highly suitable for application to hardware based Braille translation. Furthermore, the text-to-Braille algorithm is reconfigured to achieve parallel processing to accelerate the translation speed. Characteristics and advantages of Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and application of Very High Speed Integrated Circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL) are introduced to explain how the translating algorithm can be transformed to hardware. Using a Xilinx hardware development platform, the algorithm for text-to-Braille translation is implemented and the structure of the translator is described hierarchically

Text-to-Braille Translator in a Chip

This paper describes the hardware implementation of a text to Braille Translator using Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). Different from most commercial software-based translators, the circuit presented in this paper is able to carry out text-to-Braille translation in hardware. The translator is based on the translating algorithm, proposed by Paul Blenkhorn [1]. The Very high speed Hardware Description Language (VHDL) was used to describe the chip in a hierarchical way. The test results indicate that the hardware-based translator achieves the same results as software-based commercial translators, with superior throughput

A hardware based Braille note taker

This paper describes a Braille note taker implemented in hardware. The system is able to perform Braille to text translation as well as note taking. A method is presented on how to achieve Braille note taking using a Braille keyboard. To perform Braille to text translation, a translating system has been built based on previous work. Using Very high speed integrated circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL) and a Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) development platform, a system that includes the keyboard controller and translator has been hierarchically described and implemented

Human Computer Interface for Victims using FPGA

Visually impaired people face many challenges in the society; particularly students with visual impairments face unique challenges in the education environment. They struggle a lot to access the information, so to resolve this obstacle in reading and to allow the visually impaired students to fully access and participate in the curriculum with the greatest possible level of independence, a Braille transliteration system using VLSI is designed. Here Braille input is given to FPGA Virtex-4 kit via Braille keyboard. The Braille language is converted into English language by decoding logic in VHDL/Verilog and then the corresponding alphabet letter is converted into speech signal with the help of the algorithm. Speaker is used for the voice output. This project allows the visually impaired people to get literate also the person can get a conformation about what is being typed, every time that character is being pressed, this prevents the occurrence of mistakes

A system for fast Text-to-Braille translation based on FPGAs

This paper describes a fast text to Braille translator based on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). Compared with most commercial methods, this translator is able to carry out the translation in hardware instead of using software. To achieve the fast translation, a FPGA with big programmable resource has been utilized, and an algorithm, proposed by Paul Blenkhorn, has been revised to perform the fast translation. The translator has been described using Very high speed integrated circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL). The test results indicate that the hardware-based translator achieves the same results as software-based commercial translators, and moreover, this system achieves superior throughput compared to Blenkhorn's original algorithm

Text-to-Braille Translator in a Chip

This paper describes the hardware implementation of a text to Braille Translator using Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). Different from most commercial software-based translators, the circuit presented in this paper is able to carry out text-to-Braille translation in hardware. The translator is based on the translating algorithm, proposed by Paul Blenkhorn (Blenkhorn 1997). The Very high speed Hardware Description Language (VHDL) was used to describe the chip in a hierarchical way. The test results indicate that the hardware-based translator achieves the same results as software-based commercial translators, with superior throughput

Mobile assistive technologies for the visually impaired

There are around 285 million visually impaired people worldwide, and around 370,000 people are registered as blind or partially sighted in the UK. Ongoing advances in information technology (IT) are increasing the scope for IT-based mobile assistive technologies to facilitate the independence, safety, and improved quality of life of the visually impaired. Research is being directed at making mobile phones and other handheld devices accessible via our haptic (touch) and audio sensory channels. We review research and innovation within the field of mobile assistive technology for the visually impaired and, in so doing, highlight the need for successful collaboration between clinical expertise, computer science, and domain users to realize fully the potential benefits of such technologies. We initially reflect on research that has been conducted to make mobile phones more accessible to people with vision loss. We then discuss innovative assistive applications designed for the visually impaired that are either delivered via mainstream devices and can be used while in motion (e.g., mobile phones) or are embedded within an environment that may be in motion (e.g., public transport) or within which the user may be in motion (e.g., smart homes)