IMAGE RECOGNITION DEVICE FOR BLIND AND SEVERELY VISUALLY HANDICAPPED PERSONS

摘要

An apparatus enables the blind and the severely visually handicapped to recognize images by way of the tongue. Optical image information, in the form of video images, is processed electronically and transferred as an image representation to flat monitor matrix which is worn in the oral cavity in the tactile region of the tongue. Electrical current density, temperature or relief images are used to create the representations, whereby the images can be scanned by the tongue and recognized. High image resolution is attainable over the matrix region, and the tip of the tongue can be concentrated on any image detail, thus approximating sharp vision perceived by the normal eye.