Keiho
Sept 2022 - Oct 2022
Development of a home automation system for people with hearing impairment
Background
466 million people worldwide have disabling hearing loss (WHO, 2020)
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It is challenging for the deaf to perform basic activities as they live in homes designed for listeners.
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Individuals with hearing impairment become dependent on their caregivers.
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There is an absence of products that help homes adapt to people with hearing impairment.
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How might we improve the quality of living for people with hearing impairment and help them to conquer their autonomy?
Objectives
The aim of this project is to develop a product for domestic use by converting sound stimuli into visual and tactile stimuli.
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Need to design a product that doesn’t make being deaf seem like a disability, a product that easily integrates into the day-to-day activities of people with hearing impairment.
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Use other senses (eyes and nose) as people with hearing impairment rely on other senses to integrate into their environment.
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The product should be intuitive, portable, easily visible, and handheld.
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User doesn't have to buy multiple products for different purposes.
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Ideation
Idea 1
Idea 2
Idea 3
Prototyping
After giving a few days to figure out how I can make this happen I realized that making a sound recognition system would take me a long time. So I stuck to Google Speech to Text API. I programmed my pi to react to three signals; EVACUTE, OPEN THE DOOR and PICK THE PHONE instead of their sounds. I made two functions, one for the light and one for the vibrator.
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Form Development
Future Outlook
I think this product and concept has a lot of potential once I incorporate sound recognition. The device settings can be customized to deliver a variety of responses differentiated by color and rigour of vibration. I can also design an app that could be connected to the device. The app can be made robust, such that it can help convert the smartphone into a temporary Keiho device when it isn't available, thereby overcoming the limitation of carrying it along at all times. It can also help caregivers or families interact with the user via Keiho for basic tasks.