Translator Device from the Sign Language of the Deaf into Auditory Sounds of the Letters of the Alphabet

Harold Carrasco, Lennin Encalada, David Narvaez Universidad Tcnica del Norte, Ibarra - Ecuador Summary The deaf in our country have not been rovided !ith tools that allo! the" to be truly included in society# $e have created a tool that translates the si%n lan%ua%e that si%nin% eo le use daily into auditory sounds that eo le !ho have nor"al hearin% can reco%nize# This !as achieved by endo!in% a %love !ith sensors that re%ister each si%n that the si%nin% erson "a&es, and then sendin% it to a rocessin% unit# 'nce the e(tracted si%nal is reco%nized as valid, a uni)ue co""and for it is sent to a cell hone via *luetooth, !hich !ill tri%%er the re roduction of the ca tured si%nal+s corres ondin% sound# 1. Introduction In Ecuador, eo le !ith disabilities have been held under be%%in% and charity conditions# ,eo le !ith verbal and auditory disabilities co""unicate !ith one another by si%ns "ade !ith the hands or osition of the fin%ers# Different tools have been rovided to enhance the co""unication and inclusion of all eo le !ith this ty e of disability, althou%h tools that enhance co""unication bet!een these eo le !ith the rest of society have not yet been rovided# This ro-ect is ai"ed to co" ly !ith the constitution of the .e ublic of Ecuador, !hich in one of its articles %uarantees /the access to "echanis"s, "eans, and alternative for"s of co""unication, a"on% the" si%n lan%ua%e for the deaf, oralis", and the *raille syste",01 es ecially in the /eli"ination of hysical, sycholo%ical,
1

social and co""unicational barriers#0 5 a. Sign Language with the Movement of the ands !cuadorian Sign Language "LSEC #Spanish Acronym$ The deaf, lac&in% of the auditory channel, develo ed a lan%ua%e that !as "ore suitable for their co""unicative needs# This !as called /6i%n Lan%ua%e#0 Contrary to !hat "any eo le believe, the si%n lan%ua%e that the deaf use is not universal# The deaf co""unity of each country elaborated and develo ed a si%n lan%ua%e that is ada ted to the characteristics of each co""unity# Ecuadorian 6i%n Lan%ua%e 7L6EC8 is the lan%ua%e that has been develo ed over the years and assed on throu%hout the deaf co""unity of Ecuador# This lan%ua%e has a visual-%estural for" and the sa"e ro erties as the natural oral lan%ua%es# *y "eans of it the deaf can co""unicate, trans"it desires and interests, infor" the"selves, defend their ri%hts and construct a ositive identity that "a&es the" "e"bers of their co""unity#

Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador# Cha ter si(# People with Disability# 2rticle 34, II#

CONADIS La!# Ta&en fro" the 'fficial .ecord No# 59:, 2 ril 1;, 5::4#

hand in s ace, and the s eed !ith !hich it "oves# These three as ects bein% the "ost i" ortant to "easure, !e can no! ro-ect a "odel for the device# 'nce these si%nals are ac)uired, !e need a unit that !ill rocess and ad"inister the obtained infor"ation and then e(ternalize said si%nal in audio for" as the non-si%nin% erson !aits# <i%ure 5 indicates the %eneral functionin% of the device, in !hich are sho!n the instru"ents, !hich could %ive the afore"entioned si%nals# <i%ure 1; Source: Ecuadorian Alphabet Recogni ed by the National !ederation of the Deaf of Ecuador The syste" !hich !ill be develo ed ro oses to establish a "eans of co""unication bet!een eo le !ho have auditory disabilities and those !ho do not, and do not &no! si%n lan%ua%e 7see <i%ure 18# The desire is to cause the least a"ount of i" act ossible on either of the artici ants of the conversation# In order to achieve this, the si%n lan%ua%e that the deaf already &no! !ill be translated into sounds !hich are clearly ercetible to non-si%nin% s ea&ers# In the sa"e !ay, this syste" can be used by eo le !ho !ere not necessarily born !ith this disability, ho!ever do not have the ca acity to create sounds# II. Materials and Methods To be%in the construction of the device !e "ust first deter"ine !hat, e(actly, !e !ant to achieve !ith it# If the different letters of the al habet have a uni)ue osition, this !ill be !hat the syste" should ca ture# 6ince the hand of the si%nin% erson "oves in s ace, !e should deter"ine= the osition of each fin%er, the osition of the
;

<i%ure 5 Source: #he Authors a. %apacitive Accelorometer 2n electric accelero"eter is a device !hich re%isters the variations of %ravity on one or all of the a(es, since it ossesses a seis"ic ele"ent that reacts to the force of %ravity of the "ediu" !hich is a lied to it# U on varyin% the a"ount of force "easured by effects of %ravity, the ro ortional volta%e e"itted by the accelero"eter !ill also vary# This is the data that !ill allo! us

Dactilo%ical 2l habet reco%nized in Ecuador# 6ource= CONADIS"

to di%italize the a"ount of re%istered acceleration# b. %onditioning of &le' Sensors Signals 2s a li%ht introduction, !e !ill be%in by indictin% !hat is a strain %au%e= 2 strain %au%e or e(tensiono"eter is a sensor based in the iezoresistive effect# 2 stress that defor"s the %au%e roduces a variation in its electrical resistence# The "aterials !hich are fre)uently used to "a&e %au%es are "etallic alloys, for e(a" le= nichro"e, or se"iconductor ele"ents, li&e silicon and %er"aniu"# It is because of that that !e can classify %au%es into t!o ty es= "etallic and se"iconductors# <ro" this conce t of the strain %au%e co"es the be%innin% of the functionin% of the fle( sensors# The fel( sensor bases its resistence in carbon# $hen the sensor is bent, the resistence vaires in relation to the radius of the curvature= the less the radius, the %reater the value of resistence 7no curve> ?& oh", bent at ?: de%rees> 13& oh", bent at 1@: de%rees> 55& oh"8# <or its conditionin%, !e used only a !heatstone brid%e 7<i%ure 98, by "eans of !hich !e obtained a volta%e si%nal ro ortional to the variation of resistence# This si%nl can then be easily valued by the "icrocontroler# 6o that the volta%e si%nal be correct in order to roduce an accurate si%nal, !e used the follo!in% for"ula to calculate the values of the rest of the resistence of the !heatstone brid%e= %ra"ation of the a lication of the cell hone, as in the "icrocontroler ro%ra" should be s ecified= ho! "any bytes !ill be recieved, !hat ty e !ill be sent, the s eed of the trans"ission and the arity, to na"e the "ost si%nificant# This !ill allo! that the devices be synchronized in the "o"ent of co""unication, a rocess !hich is sho!n in <i%ure 3#

!igure $ c. (eproduction by Means of an Android )hone The cell hone is an i" ortant factor in creatin% the device !e !ish to create# It should be a hone !ith an 2ndroid o ertatin% syste" !ith the ability to create a lications usin% a A2B2 latfor" !ith ro%ra""in% oriented to!ards ob-ects# This can be achieved by a virtual "achine called 2 Inventor, created by the Coo%le co" any and erfected by the university DIT# This a lication consists of t!o arts= the e( lorer and the bloc& editor# 2ll of this soft!are, accordin% to its creators, !as desi%ned so that the users not only artici ate as custo"ers, but also as creators of the technolo%y that they have in their hands# <ro" there, the versitility of said !ay of ro%ra""in% allo!s eo le !ith little ro%ra""in% &no!led%e to create fit and intuitive a lications# To create an a lication, the first thin% to do is %ive it an a earance and a body, thin%s !hich !ill be rovided by the e( lorer, as sho!n in <i%ure 9#

a. %ommunication between the &le' Sensors and the Microcontroller *mega1+,A1 <or the i" le"entation of the fle( sensors in the device, !e used the dia%ra" in <i%ure ?, usin% E"e%a15@21 soft!are functions, !ith a si%nal ac)uisition ti"e of T>1#:?"s# $e used the t!o analo%ous di%ital converters !hich the "icrocontroller ossesses# It !as established by "eans of thresholds and an allocation of osition in the data fra"e, !hich corres onds to the three ositions of each of the fin%ers as seen in Table 1# !igure &

!igure % The second art of the 2 Inventor sho!s the bloc& editor, !here one be%ins the ro%ra""in% as such# It is here !here one has the ca acity to control the bloc&s used and the "anner in !hich they interact !ith the other bloc&s# III. (esults The "o"ent in !hich all the necessary ele"ents co"e to%ether for the o ti"al functionin% of the device roved the functionin% of all of the" in real scenarios, thus verifyin% the interaction of all the co" onents# *elo! !e sho! the confi%uration of all the co" onents in relation to the "icrocontroller, this bein% that !hich coordinates the %eneral "anner of the o erations erfor"ed by the device#

#able ' Allocation of (its Corresponding to the Data !ra)e *sed for the !le+ Sensors Source: #he Authors b. %ommunication between the Accelerometer MMA-./1 and the Microcontroller *mega1+,A1. <or the i" le"entation of the accelero"eter !e used the dia%ra" in <i%ure 1: and the confi%uration of the 2DC converter is the sa"e confi%uration as the 2DC-* channel and the channels 2DC1, 2DC5, 2DC; T>1#:?"s#

!igure , It !as established by "eans of thresholds and an allocation of osition in the data fra"e, !hich corres onds to the three ositions of each of the fin%ers as seen in Table 5#

!igure 1 This data !as obtained usin% the hy er-ter"inal rovided by the co" iler Codevision, <i%ure 15#

#able - Allocation of (its Corresponding to the Data !ra)e *sed in the A+es of the Accelero)eter ..A&/0'" Source: #he Authors c. %ommunication between the Microcontroller and the 012+/ %ompass In accordance !ith the data rovided by the "a&er, !e too& the reference data fro" the four cardinal ointsFNorth, 6outh, East, and $estFas is indicated in <i%ure 11, co" arin% this !ith a direction"easurin% instru"ent, !ith re%ard to Da%netic North# $e co" ared the direction %iven by the hysical instru"ent !ith the data %iven by the device in di%ital for"# !igure '2 Source: #he Authors d. %ommunication with the %ell )hone 2s !as indicated the section on "aterials and "ethods, the a lication consists of t!o arts# In the art of e( lorer is %iven= the na"e of the a lication, a screen bac&%round, bac&%round color and other as ects that favor a %ood visual a earance# 'nce this has been done, one adds interaction ele"ents# 2s sho!n in <i%ure G, !e have= - buttons - labels and screen or%anizers used as s acers In the case of this a lication buttons

!ere added !ithin the visual co" onents# $ithin the non-visual co" onents !e have= - *luetooth custo"er co" onent - Te(t-voice converter - Ti"er - 2 sound file re roducer The second art, !here one ro%ra"s the interaction bet!een the bloc&s and !ith e(ternal ele"ents, is erfor"ed in the bloc& editor usin% the said ro%ra" oriented to!ard ob-ects, as sho!n in <i%ure 11, !hich is a short fra%"ent of the ro%ra"#

"odifications "ade in the thresholds to verify if the results !ere !hat !as e( ected# To obtain accurate results !e as&ed each individual to "a&e the si%n for each letter of the al habet 1: ti"es, and in this !ay re%ister the correct "ove"ents and the errors# This sho!ed the accuracy of the device# In the sa"e !ay, this test hel ed to deter"ine !ith !hich letters the device !as "ore li&ely to fail, creatin% a "ean of the results obtained fro" all the users# I3. Discussion and %onclusion 2fter erfor"i% the tests !ith non-hearin% eo le, the i" resions of the users !ere of %reat ros ect, such that this tool, once co"ercialized, !ill be of %reat hel in the "o"ent of co""unication !ith eo le !ho do not &no! si%n lan%ua%e# <or the calibration of the device it !as necessary to erfor" the tests !ith non-hearin% eo le, since the "ove"ents that they "a&e are those that the %love should translate# The develo "ent of latfor"s that i" le"ent a lications under free soft!are, li&e 2 Inventor, shortened the develo "ent ti"e of the a lication for the adroid hone and its interface via *luetooth

!igure '' e. &unctioning Tests The functionin% tests for the device !ere done in the Deaf Education Unit of the ,rovincial Covern"ent of I"babura, located in the city of Ibarra# The tests !ere a lied to non-hearin% eo le of both se(es, belon%in% to a hi%h school class# To obtain real results !e erfor"ed t!o ty es of tests= threshold calibration and re etitivity# - Threshold Calibration Tests= In this test !e used the translator device to "a&e sure that the users "a&e the "ove"ents of the al habet, and conse)uently that the electronic arts receive this data# In addition to this, !e used a CLCD screen to visualize the obtained values in each osition that the sensors recieved# - .e etitivity Tests In this test !e considered the -

3. (ecommendations - It is necessary that the erson !ho is usin% the %love have %ood "obility of the fin%ers, and that he or she not e(ceed size "ediu" since this could cause irreversible da"a%e to the device sensors, "ainly in the fle( sensors# - If !hen connectin% the device and the *luetooth errors occur that are not considered in the users+ "anual, one should contact the ro-ect authors# - The "ass roduction of this device

!ould lessen the costs of roduction, !hich !ould "a&e it "ore accessible to the o ulation !hich needs it# - <re)uently chec& to see that the batteries are in %ood sha e and also that the sensor cables are not da"a%ed# - 2void sun and dust e( osure# - Under no circu"stances allo! the device enter contact !ith !ater or hu"idity# - Chan%e bet!een letters !ith the "ost fluidity ossible, other!ise the %love "ay understand that it should translate so"e other "otion# - In the case of the letters D, N, U, <, H, and ,, "a&e as "uch contact ossible !ith the co er fin%er lates so as not to create confusions# - <or future investi%ations, one should ta&e into consideration that letters such as 6 and I can be i" roved, and continue develo "ent !ith both hands, bein% able to "a&e e( ressions this !ay# - In future investi%ations, the i" le"entation of neuronal nets !ould be convenient to achieve that the device inter ret the user+s behavior in the "ost accurate !ay, also the "ove"ents of the elbo! and forear"# 3I. Ac4nowledgements 2s authors of this ro-ect, !e are than&ful for the colaboration of the 6chool of the Deaf of the ,rovincial Covern"ent of I"babura, !ho contributed in our investi%ation and hel ed us to erfor" the functionin% tests# 2lso to the en%ineers Danny ,abJn, David Narvaez, and Cerardo Colla%uazo# 3II. (eferences 75::G8, DIC.'CHI, TECHN'L'CK INC, ,IC1@<5399L599:L3399L399: Data 6heet Consultado el 1G de <ebrero del 5:11# User Cuide 6'D' 2udio Converter 6oft!are Tool

Consultado el 1 de Darzo del 5:11 6'D'-13D E"bedded 2udio6ound Dodule Data 6heet Consultado el 1 de Darzo del 5:11 CuMa rN ida del "Jdulo de re roducciJn de ficheros de sonidos 6'D' O 13D Consultado el 1; de Darzo del 5:11 6'D'-13D-a lications5# df Consultado el 5: de Darzo del 5:11 ,ri"era Ley de Disca acidades#.e%istro oficial Consultado el 5@ de <ebrero del 5:11 Dicrocontrolador# Consultado el 1G de 2bril del 5:11 en= htt =LLes#!i&i edia#or%L!i&iLDicroco ntrolador Luis E# 6Nnchez Toledo# Dicrocontroladores %enricos# Consultado el 1G de 2bril del 5:11 en= htt =LL!!!#"ono%rafias#co"Ltraba-o s;3L"icrocontroladores%enericosL"icrocontroladores%enericos#sht"l LCD# Consultado el ;: de "ayo del 5:11 en= htt =LL!!!#todorobot#co"#arLdocu" entosLdis lay# df htt =LL!!!# ablin#co"#arLelectronLin foLlcdLinde(#ht" htt =LL!!!5#in%# uc#clLPiee5G@5LLC D#- % ,ro%ra"a de disca acidades en el Ecuador# Consultado el 53 de Dayo del 5:11 en= htt =LL!!!#vice residencia#%ob#ecL ro%ra"as EstadMsticas del Qlti"o censo de ersonas con disca acidades en el Ecuador# Consultado el 53 de "ayo del 5:11

htt =LL!!!#conadis#%ob#ecLestadistic as#ht" 2 licaciones con el "Jdulo 6'D'13D htt =LL!!!#enchantedlearnin%#co"Lt he"esLasl#sht"l Ho-a de datos del sensor de fle(iJn htt =LL!!!#s ar&fun#co"LdatasheetsL 6ensorsL<le(L<LEE6EN6'.7.EB2 18# df
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puente_d e_Wheatstone

Lennin C# Encalada Donteros !as born in Ibarra, Ecuador on Nove"ber 1?, 1?@?# He carried out his secondary studies in Cole%io <isco-"isional 6Nnchez y Cifuentes, !here he obtained the de%ree of *achelor in ,hysics-Dathe"atics# Currently he is a %raduate of the "a-or Dechatronic En%ineerin% at the Universidad Tcnica del Norte# 2reas of interest= robotics, industrial and "echanical auto"ation# 7lennineT1:Shot"ail#co"8

D2KNE, A# 75::;8# 6ensores 2condicionadores y ,rocesadores de seRal#

3II. 5iographies Luis D# Narvaez Erazo !as born in Ibarra, Ecuador on 'ctober 54, 1?@9# He carried out his secondary studies at Teodoro CJ"ez de la Torre hi%h school, !here he obtained the de%ree of *achelor in 6ciences, !ith a focus in Dathe"atical ,hysics# He %raduated fro" Universidad Tcnica del Norte as En%ineer in Electronics and Co""unication Net!or&s in 5:15# Currently he is a rofessor at Universidad Tcnica del Norte in the <aculty of En%ineerin% in 2 lied 6ciences# 2reas of interest= robotics, industrial control, electrical net!or&s, "icrocontrolers# 7davnarvaez@hotmail.com8 Harold E# Carrasco Cueva !as born in 2tunta)ui, Ecuador on <ebruary ;, 1?@G# He carried out his secondary studies in Cole%io <isco-"isional /6an <rancisco#0 !here he obtained to de%ree of *achelor in Hu"anities, !ith a focus in ,hysicsDathe"atics# Currently he is a %raduate of the "a-or Dechatronic En%ineerin% at the Universidad Tcnica del Norte# 2reas of interest= "echanics, robotics, auto"ation, lan%ua%es, reli%ion# 7haroldcessnaShot"ail#co"8