Optical braille recognition

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Image of a page showing both the raised braille characters, and the recessed characters on the other side of the page.

Optical braille recognition is technology to capture and process images of braille characters into natural language characters. It is used to convert braille documents for people who cannot read them into text, and for preservation and reproduction of the documents.

History

In 1984, a group of researchers at the

artificial neural networks. This system was noted for its ability to handle image degradation more successfully than other approaches.[3]

Challenges

Many of the challenges to successfully processing braille text arise from the nature of braille documents. Braille is generally printed on solid-color paper, with no ink to produce contrast between the raised characters and the background paper. However, imperfections in the page can appear in a scan or image of the page.

Many documents are printed inter-point, meaning they are double-sided. As such, the depressions of the braille of one side appear interlaid with the protruding braille of the other side.[6]

Techniques

Some optical braille recognition techniques attempt to use

oblique lighting and a camera to reveal the shadows of the depressions and protrusions of the braille. Others make use of commercially available document scanners.[6]

See also

References