Blink-To-Tell

The purpose of this project is to build a real-time interactive web app that allows paralysed people to easily express themselves, via eye blinks.

Problem Statement

Paralyzed people cannot control muscle function in one or more muscle groups. The condition can be caused by stroke, ALS, multiple sclerosis, and many other diseases. Locked-in Syndrome (LIS) is a form of paralysis where patients have lost control of nearly all voluntary muscles. These people are unable to control any part of their body, besides eye movement and blinking. Due to their condition, these people are unable to talk, text, and communicate in general. Even though people that have LIS are cognitively aware, their thoughts and ideas are locked inside of them. These people depend on eye blinks to communicate. They rely on nurses and caretakers to interpret and decode their blinking. Whenever LIS patients do not have a person to read their eye blinks available, they have no means of self-expression.

Objective

Allow paralysis victims to communicate independently
Be accessible to people with financial constraints

Feautures

Type with eye blinks
Recite
Autocomplete
Send text through WhatsApp and SMS
Emergency alert via WhatsApp, SMS and audio siren

Development

Language

Python

Tools used

OpenCV
PyQt
Pyttsx

Run locally

Prerequisite:

Python 3

After having the prerequisite installed create a virtual environment:

python3 -m venv venv

Activate the virtual environment:

source venv/bin/activate

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/geekayush/blink.git

Get into the project folder:

cd blink

Install the python modules:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Configure the project:

cp config_template.py config.py

Add the values in the configuration file after setting up a project in Twilio:

account_sid is your account's ID
auth_token is your authentication token
sms_to is the number which will receive the SMS
sms_from is the number generated on Twilio for sending SMS
whatsapp_to is the number which will receive the WhatsApp messages
whatsapp_from is the number of Twilio for sending WhatsApp messages

Finally, Run the project:

python main.py

geekayush / blink