ASCII-Braille Real-Time Translation via Arduino

1/*
2  Arduino ASCII- Braille Translator
3  by Cesare Brizio | CC by-sa-nc
4   this sketch is in the public domain
5
6  Version 1.0 - 29 June 2019
7  ------------------------------
8   This sketch will use six small solenoids/electromagnets arranged in
9  three   rows of two columns to operate a Braille dot matrix.
10  Any ASCII character sent   to Arduino via COM port will be "translated"
11  in a timed sequence of Braille   symbols by configuring, one character 
12  at a time, the dot matrix, so that the   "dots" (solenoids) corresponding
13  to the current ASCII character are raised   for 500 msec before passing to
14  the subsequent character. 
15  When an un-translatable   character is sent, a short buzz is emitted.
16
17  ==== DOT NUMBERING ====
18   Dots are not numbered according to the Braille convention, but are
19  conventionally   numbered from left to right, then from top to bottom:
20  1  2
21  3  4
22  5   6
23  As an example, showing letter "b" (asterisk represent an high dot):
24   *-
25  *-
26  --
27  will require raising dots number 1 and 3
28
29
30  ====   DOT CONFIGURATION ====
31  Dot configuration will be stored as a series of six   binary values. As an
32  example, according to the preceding explanation, the configuration   for "b"
33  is 101000.
34  As long as configurations contain just 6 bits of   information, they can be
35  stored in a single char that, translated bitwise (least   significant bit at
36  right), corresponds to the needed configuration.
37  So,   101000 (configuration for "b"), corresponding to DEC 40 and HEX 28,
38  will   be represented by ASCII character "(".
39  Summarizing, considering that ascii   code for "b" is 98D (62H) I will say
40  that 
41  myBrailleDots[98] = 40; 
42   meaning that the binary sextet corresponding to letter "b" is 101000.
43 
44   When needed, a bitwise AND with increasing powers of two (from 1 to 32)
45  will   reveal which dots shall be raised: this is accomplished by iterating
46  through   a 6 bit mask:
47  
48  Some simplifications will be applied, e.g.:
49  a) the   multi-letter Braille glyphs (ch, ing, for, ar, th and others)
50  b) number prefix   (010111), 
51  c) letter prefix (000101), 
52  d) uppercase prefix (000001) and   other prefixes
53  will not be implemented in this version, but this sketch can
54   be quite easily implemented with the needed modifications.
55*/  
56
57// Declare   a char array with one index for every possible ASCII byte / character
58byte myBrailleDots[255];
59int   firstOutputPin = 2; // pin corresponding to least significant bit
60int buzzerPin   = 8; // Buzzer on pin 8
61byte matrixPoints = 0; // byte that will store the point   matrix configuration
62                       // for a specific ASCII character
63byte   inByte;
64byte mask = 1; //our bitmask
65
66void setup() {
67  // Temporarily   assign 99 to every possible ASCII byte/character
68  // All the characters in the   input string will decode to "99" by default
69  for (int i = 0; i < 256; i =   i + 1) {
70     myBrailleDots[i] = 99;
71  }
72
73  // Now, only for the ASCII   characters with a corresponding Braille character.
74  // assign the corresponding   Braille Dot configuration
75  myBrailleDots[32] = 0;  // blank is 000000
76  myBrailleDots[33]   = 14;  // exlamation mark is 001110
77  myBrailleDots[34] = 7;  // double quote   is 000111
78  myBrailleDots[34] = 2;  // single quote is 000010
79  myBrailleDots[40]   = 15;  // left parenthesis is 001111
80  myBrailleDots[41] = 15;  // right parenthesis   is 001111
81  myBrailleDots[44] = 8;  // comma is 001000
82  myBrailleDots[46]   = 13;  // period is 001101
83  myBrailleDots[48] = 28; // 0 is 011100
84  myBrailleDots[49]   = 32; // 1 is 100000
85  myBrailleDots[50] = 40; // 2 is 101000
86  myBrailleDots[51]   = 48; // 3 is 110000
87  myBrailleDots[52] = 52; // 4 is 110100
88  myBrailleDots[53]   = 36; // 5 is 100100
89  myBrailleDots[54] = 56; // 6 is 111000
90  myBrailleDots[55]   = 60; // 7 is 111100
91  myBrailleDots[56] = 44; // 8 is 101100
92  myBrailleDots[57]   = 24; // 9 is 011000
93  myBrailleDots[58] = 12; // colon is 001100
94  myBrailleDots[59]   = 10; // semicolon is 001010
95  myBrailleDots[63] = 11; // question mark is 001011
96   myBrailleDots[65] = 32; // A is 100000
97  myBrailleDots[66] = 40; // B is 101000
98   myBrailleDots[67] = 48; // C is 110000
99  myBrailleDots[68] = 52; // D is 110100
100   myBrailleDots[69] = 36; // E is 100100
101  myBrailleDots[70] = 56; // F is 111000
102   myBrailleDots[71] = 60; // G is 111100
103  myBrailleDots[72] = 44; // H is 101100
104   myBrailleDots[73] = 24; // I is 011000
105  myBrailleDots[74] = 28; // J is 011100
106   myBrailleDots[75] = 34; // K is 100010
107  myBrailleDots[76] = 42; // L is 101010
108   myBrailleDots[77] = 50; // M is 110010
109  myBrailleDots[78] = 54; // N is 110110
110   myBrailleDots[79] = 38; // O is 100110
111  myBrailleDots[80] = 58; // P is 111010
112   myBrailleDots[81] = 62; // Q is 111110
113  myBrailleDots[82] = 46; // R is 101110
114   myBrailleDots[83] = 26; // S is 011010
115  myBrailleDots[84] = 30; // T is 011110
116   myBrailleDots[85] = 35; // U is 100011
117  myBrailleDots[86] = 43; // V is 101011
118   myBrailleDots[87] = 29; // W is 011101
119  myBrailleDots[88] = 51; // X is 110011
120   myBrailleDots[89] = 55; // Y is 110111
121  myBrailleDots[90] = 39; // Z is 100111
122   myBrailleDots[97] = 32; // A is 100000
123  myBrailleDots[98] = 40; // B is 101000
124   myBrailleDots[99] = 48; // C is 110000
125  myBrailleDots[100] = 52; // D is 110100
126   myBrailleDots[101] = 36; // E is 100100
127  myBrailleDots[102] = 56; // F is   111000
128  myBrailleDots[103] = 60; // G is 111100
129  myBrailleDots[104] = 44;   // H is 101100
130  myBrailleDots[105] = 24; // I is 011000
131  myBrailleDots[106]   = 28; // J is 011100
132  myBrailleDots[107] = 34; // K is 100010
133  myBrailleDots[108]   = 42; // L is 101010
134  myBrailleDots[109] = 50; // M is 110010
135  myBrailleDots[110]   = 54; // N is 110110
136  myBrailleDots[111] = 38; // O is 100110
137  myBrailleDots[112]   = 58; // P is 111010
138  myBrailleDots[113] = 62; // Q is 111110
139  myBrailleDots[114]   = 46; // R is 101110
140  myBrailleDots[115] = 26; // S is 011010
141  myBrailleDots[116]   = 30; // T is 011110
142  myBrailleDots[117] = 35; // U is 100011
143  myBrailleDots[118]   = 43; // V is 101011
144  myBrailleDots[119] = 29; // W is 011101
145  myBrailleDots[120]   = 51; // X is 110011
146  myBrailleDots[121] = 55; // Y is 110111
147  myBrailleDots[122]   = 39; // Z is 100111
148  pinMode(buzzerPin, OUTPUT);
149  pinMode(2, OUTPUT);
150   pinMode(3, OUTPUT);
151  pinMode(4, OUTPUT);
152  pinMode(5, OUTPUT);
153  pinMode(6,   OUTPUT);
154  pinMode(7, OUTPUT);
155  Serial.begin(9600); 
156  Serial.println("ASCII   - Braille Arduino Converter");
157  Serial.println("LED test - begin");
158  digitalWrite(2,HIGH);
159   digitalWrite(3,HIGH);
160  digitalWrite(4,HIGH);
161  digitalWrite(5,HIGH);
162   digitalWrite(6,HIGH);
163  digitalWrite(7,HIGH);
164  delay(3000);
165  digitalWrite(2,LOW);
166   digitalWrite(3,LOW);
167  digitalWrite(4,LOW);
168  digitalWrite(5,LOW);
169  digitalWrite(6,LOW);
170   digitalWrite(7,LOW);
171  Serial.println("LED test - end");
172  Serial.println("Type   some character: it will be transmitted to Arduino and displayed on a Braille 2 x   3 matrix");
173}
174
175
176void loop() {
177   // Braille print data only when   you receive data:
178   if (Serial.available() > 0) {
179      // read the incoming   byte:
180      inByte = Serial.read();
181      // say what you got:
182      Serial.print("Received   (inByte): ");
183      Serial.println(inByte);
184      // Translate inByte in   matrix points
185      Serial.print("Matrix points variable (myBrailleDots[inByte]):   ");
186      Serial.println(myBrailleDots[inByte]);
187
188      // Braille print   only admissible characters
189      // the unadmissible ones decode to 99
190      if   (myBrailleDots[inByte] == 99)   // if unadmissible
191      {
192         Serial.println("Not   a translatable character");
193         digitalWrite(buzzerPin,HIGH); // buzz
194          delay(250); 
195         digitalWrite(buzzerPin,LOW); // stop buzzing
196       }
197      else{ 
198              int thisPin = 2;
199              for (mask   = 000001; mask<64; mask <<= 1) { 
200                  Serial.print("thisPin =   ");
201                  Serial.println(thisPin); 
202                  if (myBrailleDots[inByte]   & mask){ // if bitwise AND resolves to true
203                     Serial.print("AND   successful, put pin on!");
204                     Serial.println(mask);  
205                      digitalWrite(thisPin,HIGH);               
206                  }
207                   else{ //if bitwise and resolves to false
208                     Serial.print("AND   unsuccessful, put pin off!");
209                     Serial.println(mask);  
210                      digitalWrite(thisPin,LOW);
211                  }
212              thisPin   = thisPin + 1;   
213              }
214      } 
215      delay(3000); // allow   3 sec before passing to next character
216   }
217}

1/*
2  Arduino ASCII- Braille Translator
3  by Cesare Brizio | CC by-sa-nc
4  this sketch is in the public domain
5
6  Version 1.0 - 29 June 2019
7  ------------------------------
8  This sketch will use six small solenoids/electromagnets arranged in
9  three  rows of two columns to operate a Braille dot matrix.
10  Any ASCII character sent  to Arduino via COM port will be "translated"
11  in a timed sequence of Braille  symbols by configuring, one character 
12  at a time, the dot matrix, so that the  "dots" (solenoids) corresponding
13  to the current ASCII character are raised  for 500 msec before passing to
14  the subsequent character. 
15  When an un-translatable  character is sent, a short buzz is emitted.
16
17  ==== DOT NUMBERING ====
18  Dots are not numbered according to the Braille convention, but are
19  conventionally  numbered from left to right, then from top to bottom:
20  1  2
21  3  4
22  5  6
23  As an example, showing letter "b" (asterisk represent an high dot):
24  *-
25  *-
26  --
27  will require raising dots number 1 and 3
28
29
30  ====  DOT CONFIGURATION ====
31  Dot configuration will be stored as a series of six  binary values. As an
32  example, according to the preceding explanation, the configuration  for "b"
33  is 101000.
34  As long as configurations contain just 6 bits of  information, they can be
35  stored in a single char that, translated bitwise (least  significant bit at
36  right), corresponds to the needed configuration.
37  So,  101000 (configuration for "b"), corresponding to DEC 40 and HEX 28,
38  will  be represented by ASCII character "(".
39  Summarizing, considering that ascii  code for "b" is 98D (62H) I will say
40  that 
41  myBrailleDots[98] = 40; 
42  meaning that the binary sextet corresponding to letter "b" is 101000.
43 
44  When needed, a bitwise AND with increasing powers of two (from 1 to 32)
45  will  reveal which dots shall be raised: this is accomplished by iterating
46  through  a 6 bit mask:
47  
48  Some simplifications will be applied, e.g.:
49  a) the  multi-letter Braille glyphs (ch, ing, for, ar, th and others)
50  b) number prefix  (010111), 
51  c) letter prefix (000101), 
52  d) uppercase prefix (000001) and  other prefixes
53  will not be implemented in this version, but this sketch can
54  be quite easily implemented with the needed modifications.
55*/  
56
57// Declare  a char array with one index for every possible ASCII byte / character
58byte myBrailleDots[255];
59int  firstOutputPin = 2; // pin corresponding to least significant bit
60int buzzerPin  = 8; // Buzzer on pin 8
61byte matrixPoints = 0; // byte that will store the point  matrix configuration
62                       // for a specific ASCII character
63byte  inByte;
64byte mask = 1; //our bitmask
65
66void setup() {
67  // Temporarily  assign 99 to every possible ASCII byte/character
68  // All the characters in the  input string will decode to "99" by default
69  for (int i = 0; i < 256; i =  i + 1) {
70     myBrailleDots[i] = 99;
71  }
72
73  // Now, only for the ASCII  characters with a corresponding Braille character.
74  // assign the corresponding  Braille Dot configuration
75  myBrailleDots[32] = 0;  // blank is 000000
76  myBrailleDots[33]  = 14;  // exlamation mark is 001110
77  myBrailleDots[34] = 7;  // double quote  is 000111
78  myBrailleDots[34] = 2;  // single quote is 000010
79  myBrailleDots[40]  = 15;  // left parenthesis is 001111
80  myBrailleDots[41] = 15;  // right parenthesis  is 001111
81  myBrailleDots[44] = 8;  // comma is 001000
82  myBrailleDots[46]  = 13;  // period is 001101
83  myBrailleDots[48] = 28; // 0 is 011100
84  myBrailleDots[49]  = 32; // 1 is 100000
85  myBrailleDots[50] = 40; // 2 is 101000
86  myBrailleDots[51]  = 48; // 3 is 110000
87  myBrailleDots[52] = 52; // 4 is 110100
88  myBrailleDots[53]  = 36; // 5 is 100100
89  myBrailleDots[54] = 56; // 6 is 111000
90  myBrailleDots[55]  = 60; // 7 is 111100
91  myBrailleDots[56] = 44; // 8 is 101100
92  myBrailleDots[57]  = 24; // 9 is 011000
93  myBrailleDots[58] = 12; // colon is 001100
94  myBrailleDots[59]  = 10; // semicolon is 001010
95  myBrailleDots[63] = 11; // question mark is 001011
96  myBrailleDots[65] = 32; // A is 100000
97  myBrailleDots[66] = 40; // B is 101000
98  myBrailleDots[67] = 48; // C is 110000
99  myBrailleDots[68] = 52; // D is 110100
100  myBrailleDots[69] = 36; // E is 100100
101  myBrailleDots[70] = 56; // F is 111000
102  myBrailleDots[71] = 60; // G is 111100
103  myBrailleDots[72] = 44; // H is 101100
104  myBrailleDots[73] = 24; // I is 011000
105  myBrailleDots[74] = 28; // J is 011100
106  myBrailleDots[75] = 34; // K is 100010
107  myBrailleDots[76] = 42; // L is 101010
108  myBrailleDots[77] = 50; // M is 110010
109  myBrailleDots[78] = 54; // N is 110110
110  myBrailleDots[79] = 38; // O is 100110
111  myBrailleDots[80] = 58; // P is 111010
112  myBrailleDots[81] = 62; // Q is 111110
113  myBrailleDots[82] = 46; // R is 101110
114  myBrailleDots[83] = 26; // S is 011010
115  myBrailleDots[84] = 30; // T is 011110
116  myBrailleDots[85] = 35; // U is 100011
117  myBrailleDots[86] = 43; // V is 101011
118  myBrailleDots[87] = 29; // W is 011101
119  myBrailleDots[88] = 51; // X is 110011
120  myBrailleDots[89] = 55; // Y is 110111
121  myBrailleDots[90] = 39; // Z is 100111
122  myBrailleDots[97] = 32; // A is 100000
123  myBrailleDots[98] = 40; // B is 101000
124  myBrailleDots[99] = 48; // C is 110000
125  myBrailleDots[100] = 52; // D is 110100
126  myBrailleDots[101] = 36; // E is 100100
127  myBrailleDots[102] = 56; // F is  111000
128  myBrailleDots[103] = 60; // G is 111100
129  myBrailleDots[104] = 44;  // H is 101100
130  myBrailleDots[105] = 24; // I is 011000
131  myBrailleDots[106]  = 28; // J is 011100
132  myBrailleDots[107] = 34; // K is 100010
133  myBrailleDots[108]  = 42; // L is 101010
134  myBrailleDots[109] = 50; // M is 110010
135  myBrailleDots[110]  = 54; // N is 110110
136  myBrailleDots[111] = 38; // O is 100110
137  myBrailleDots[112]  = 58; // P is 111010
138  myBrailleDots[113] = 62; // Q is 111110
139  myBrailleDots[114]  = 46; // R is 101110
140  myBrailleDots[115] = 26; // S is 011010
141  myBrailleDots[116]  = 30; // T is 011110
142  myBrailleDots[117] = 35; // U is 100011
143  myBrailleDots[118]  = 43; // V is 101011
144  myBrailleDots[119] = 29; // W is 011101
145  myBrailleDots[120]  = 51; // X is 110011
146  myBrailleDots[121] = 55; // Y is 110111
147  myBrailleDots[122]  = 39; // Z is 100111
148  pinMode(buzzerPin, OUTPUT);
149  pinMode(2, OUTPUT);
150  pinMode(3, OUTPUT);
151  pinMode(4, OUTPUT);
152  pinMode(5, OUTPUT);
153  pinMode(6,  OUTPUT);
154  pinMode(7, OUTPUT);
155  Serial.begin(9600); 
156  Serial.println("ASCII  - Braille Arduino Converter");
157  Serial.println("LED test - begin");
158  digitalWrite(2,HIGH);
159  digitalWrite(3,HIGH);
160  digitalWrite(4,HIGH);
161  digitalWrite(5,HIGH);
162  digitalWrite(6,HIGH);
163  digitalWrite(7,HIGH);
164  delay(3000);
165  digitalWrite(2,LOW);
166  digitalWrite(3,LOW);
167  digitalWrite(4,LOW);
168  digitalWrite(5,LOW);
169  digitalWrite(6,LOW);
170  digitalWrite(7,LOW);
171  Serial.println("LED test - end");
172  Serial.println("Type  some character: it will be transmitted to Arduino and displayed on a Braille 2 x  3 matrix");
173}
174
175
176void loop() {
177   // Braille print data only when  you receive data:
178   if (Serial.available() > 0) {
179      // read the incoming  byte:
180      inByte = Serial.read();
181      // say what you got:
182      Serial.print("Received  (inByte): ");
183      Serial.println(inByte);
184      // Translate inByte in  matrix points
185      Serial.print("Matrix points variable (myBrailleDots[inByte]):  ");
186      Serial.println(myBrailleDots[inByte]);
187
188      // Braille print  only admissible characters
189      // the unadmissible ones decode to 99
190      if  (myBrailleDots[inByte] == 99)   // if unadmissible
191      {
192         Serial.println("Not  a translatable character");
193         digitalWrite(buzzerPin,HIGH); // buzz
194         delay(250); 
195         digitalWrite(buzzerPin,LOW); // stop buzzing
196      }
197      else{ 
198              int thisPin = 2;
199              for (mask  = 000001; mask<64; mask <<= 1) { 
200                  Serial.print("thisPin =  ");
201                  Serial.println(thisPin); 
202                  if (myBrailleDots[inByte]  & mask){ // if bitwise AND resolves to true
203                     Serial.print("AND  successful, put pin on!");
204                     Serial.println(mask);  
205                     digitalWrite(thisPin,HIGH);               
206                  }
207                  else{ //if bitwise and resolves to false
208                     Serial.print("AND  unsuccessful, put pin off!");
209                     Serial.println(mask);  
210                     digitalWrite(thisPin,LOW);
211                  }
212              thisPin  = thisPin + 1;   
213              }
214      } 
215      delay(3000); // allow  3 sec before passing to next character
216   }
217}