What is the current status of this project? The current version of Ralph is a research prototype unit - a one-of-a-kind, handmade device that demonstrates the feasibility of using a computer controlled electromechanical device for communicating to an individual who is deaf/blind. Ralph is the fourth in a series of prototypes that have been constructed since 1985. The current effort is focussed on transferring the technology and expertise to a company for commercialization. Who are you working with to manufacture Ralph? There is a small group of engineers on the east coast that is interested in bringing Ralph to market. They are searching for funding to accomplish this. How much would a commercial unit cost? It is difficult to determine what a selling price for a commercial unit might be. The price is heavily influenced by the market size. Since the number of people who are deaf/blind in the US is small, the price will probably be high. The best estimate of a price would be less than $5000. If many units are sold, the price could be reduced to about $3000. How would people get a device? Assuming units were commercially available, there would be three ways that a fingerspelling device would be obtained. The first would be by outright purchase, the second would be through a rehabilitation or vocational based local, state, or government agency or charitable organization, and the third would be through the telephone company. In several areas, the telephone company collects a small fee that goes into a fund to purchase telephone-access equipment for telephone users with disabilities. A commercial fingerspelling hand could be qualified for this program. What are the prototype's strengths and weaknesses? The current unit is very compact, weighting only 2 pounds without a battery. Is can easily be carried around and set up to translate an serial ASCII text stream to fingerspelling. The individual letters and transitions between letters can be edited to suit an individual's preferences. The speed of presentation can also be changed. The design is mechanically rugged - the fingers have not suffered any "fractures" since 1993. It is also quite fast it has the capability of fingerspelling several characters per second. To improve intelligibility, the next design should incorporate a wrist rotation motion. In addition, some current limiting should be added to regulate the maximum current to the servo motors to increase their life. Any commercial design should be built to take advantage of mass-production techniques including creating injection molds for the finger segments and using and single chip microcontrollers. Did you perform a market assessment / survey? A survey of many US deaf-blind organizations was done several years ago to introduce this device. The reaction was varied, but the most numerous response was that Ralph was an interesting device, a potential communication solution for some people who are deaf/blind or for those that serve that population, and a there was a desire to test a unit. From that survey it appears there is an initial market for about 100 units. What is the "Talking Glove" and how is it related to Ralph? The Talking Glove was a project at Stanford University in 1988. Bend sensors were attached to a glove that a person who is deaf/blind wore. As he/she fingerspelled, the flex of each finger was measured. The microcontroller was able to deduce what letter was being formed and sent the character to a display or a speech synthesizer. With this device, a individual who is deaf/blind would be able to communicate to others - while a fingerspelling hand would permit communication to this individual. A segment showing these devices was taped for the program "Discover the World of Science" in 1988. Virtex's GesturePlus Gesture Recognition System is a commercial outgrowth of this early effort. How do deaf/blind people initiate communication? Deafblind people can initiate communication in a variety of ways depending on their abilities. Some can speak intelligibly - however I believe this is rare. Others can write or use a keyboard. Others employ fingerspelling - the odds are that if they know how to receive fingerspelling, they can also initiate it. Others can sign. If a person who is deaf/blind has not acquired language, they do not know what letters or words represent. Fingerspelling would not be appropriate for them. What are Ralph's physical characteristics - size, weight, power requirements? Ralph weighs about 2 pounds without its battery. It works on a 6 volt power source - which is either a battery or AC power supply. The larger the battery, the longer the device will work before recharging. The 2 pound 10 amp-hour battery I use will easily last the entire day. Ralph is 4.5 by 5.5 inches at its base and 10 inches tall to the tip of the index finger. The unit has suction cups to hold it on the table.
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