Taiwan Today

The Department of Electrical Engineering at the Southern Taiwan University of Technology in Tainan County has developed an "intelligent talking drinking water machine" to aid those with impaired vision. The special design lets blind people avoid worry about burning themselves when getting hot water from the machine, and the amount of water dispensed can be adjusted to suit one's personal preference for further convenience and independence. Professor Chen Shih-chung led a team of students in developing the new device, which has won many prizes. A patent is pending on the design of the new product. The school said while most drinking water machines have two spouts, the new model has only one, making it more convenient for blind people. All the machine's controls feature tactile labels, so blind people can easily distinguish between the buttons for hot and cold water, add water, and ascertain the amount of water remaining. A single touch of a finger enables the user to select the correct button without fail. The most important design feature is the system's speech capabilities. When the "hot water" button is pressed, the machine comments, "Hot water!" in a warning tone. However, the water does not come out immediately, to avoid burns. The user must press another button to confirm the selection before water will be dispensed. STUT said the development team is moving towards the creation of an entire series of products with speech capabilities, such as a voice-controlled drinking water machine. Further improvements will simplify and streamline the human-machine interface, providing a more convenient tool for blind people. (This article originally appeared in “The Liberty Times” April 1.)