A Swedish researcher has created a kind of Braille system he
claims allows "the visually impaired [to] "see" others'
emotions". Shafiq ur Réhman from Umeå University explains:
"Missing emotional information from facial expressions and head
gestures makes it extremely difficult for the visually impaired
to interact with others at social events. Blind people
compensate for missing information with other senses such as
sound. But it is difficult to understand complex emotions with
voice alone." The research team believes that it has found a
solution in technology that allows the expression of human
emotions through vibrotactile patterns. The team used an
ordinary web camera, specially developed software, a touchscreen
display and vibrating pads, which would convey "emotional
messages" to the wearer. The software included a tracking
system, which followed the movements of the mouth as facial
expressions were used in this project as the main indicators of
emotion. "Visual information was converted from the camera