DrumPants wearable fabric sensors give voices to those who can't speak
TomoNews US
2015-11-04
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SAN FRANCISCO — DrumPants TAPS is an app aimed at giving a voice to speech-impaired individuals. The device connects to wearable fabric sensors called DrumPants.
"Hitting a DrumPants trigger could now trigger a phrase on your phone," says Tyler Freeman, creator of DrumPants and co-founder of Tappur, a San Francisco startup.
TAPS stands for "trigger activated personal assistant." Freeman collaborated with Michael Zinn, a rehabilitation support worker based in Canada, to develop the TAPS app.
"People with brain injuries who had difficulty speaking, they can use this," he says. "TAPS gives them an easy way to communicate,"
The device works when the user straps the fabric sensors to their body, or use Velcro to attach them to the user's clothes. These fabric sensors are velocity sensitive, meaning the harder they're hit, the louder they produce sound. The system uses a "text-to-speech" engine, so it can be programmed to say what the user wants when phrases are typed into the app on a smartphone or tablet. The phrases are then assigned to each trigger. A Bluetooth enabled control unit connects the triggers to the app. This results in the app speaking for the user when the sensors are tapped.
TAPS is currently beta testing. Since individuals with limited mobility still need help programming each trigger, according to Zinn, they're developing an external keyboard for mobile devices.
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"Hitting a DrumPants trigger could now trigger a phrase on your phone," says Tyler Freeman, creator of DrumPants and co-founder of Tappur, a San Francisco startup.
TAPS stands for "trigger activated personal assistant." Freeman collaborated with Michael Zinn, a rehabilitation support worker based in Canada, to develop the TAPS app.
"People with brain injuries who had difficulty speaking, they can use this," he says. "TAPS gives them an easy way to communicate,"
The device works when the user straps the fabric sensors to their body, or use Velcro to attach them to the user's clothes. These fabric sensors are velocity sensitive, meaning the harder they're hit, the louder they produce sound. The system uses a "text-to-speech" engine, so it can be programmed to say what the user wants when phrases are typed into the app on a smartphone or tablet. The phrases are then assigned to each trigger. A Bluetooth enabled control unit connects the triggers to the app. This results in the app speaking for the user when the sensors are tapped.
TAPS is currently beta testing. Since individuals with limited mobility still need help programming each trigger, according to Zinn, they're developing an external keyboard for mobile devices.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.
Visit our official website for all the latest, uncensored videos: http://us.tomonews.net
Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj
Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f
Get top stories delivered to your inbox everyday: http://bit.ly/tomo-newsletter
Stay connected with us here:
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Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS
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