A Low Cost Open Source Braille Display

Your Location:
Downtown Victoria

Company or Affiliation:
Self-employed; Online Marketing/Software Development

Website:
http://UtopiaMechanicus.com

Other contact info: ---

Your Awesome Sh*t:
My device will take in computer codes and display it as Braille text
on a tactile display. Using it, Blind people will have more access to
the written word, and greater opportunities to learn (and practice)
Braille. Braille literacy for the blind is just as vital as literacy
for the sighted, and lacking it can severely impact their lifestyle
and chances for employment. My device seeks to reduce the costs on
this device (from currently around $7,000-$10,000 down to around
$200) by reducing the part count drastically and using Open Source
components. The device will also be made available as Open Source, so
that others can build and modify it. Money from the Awesome Club will
pay for more and better parts for improved prototypes, such as
stepper motors, and improved materials, such as cast plastic parts
instead of laser-cut acrylic.

Your Bio:
I invent - mostly software/games - and decided to make this device to
fill a need. Typically, Braille displays are many thousands of
dollars. An inexpensive device like this would allow people to use
computers more easily, and also learn Braille rapidly.

Anything else you think we should know:
As discussed in the last submission, voice readers for your computer
are not a substitute for Braille literacy, any more than audio books
mean people don't have to learn how to read; they are complementary.
A device like this, communicating in Braille codes, is already an
accepted (and desirable) fact of life for the blind community - this
project's goal is to make such a device more accessible to all by
reducing costs drastically, and encouraging others to rework the
design to the benefit of all.

Thank you for your attention,
David Pankhurst