Breakthrough Braille Smartphones For The Blind

http://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2013/04/24/breakthrough-braille-smartphones-for-the-blind/

by miguelrey • 13 years ago

1 1 13 years ago

Someone• 13 years ago

This reeks of those other developments from India that get lots of publicity, then never really materialize ($35 tablet: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10740817)

'Normal' Braille cells use piezo-electrics cells that are centimeters tall, making it infeasible to have more than, say, one line of 10 characters in anything resembling a mobile phone. On top of that, Those cells need high voltages to operate (200V or so), and are at least $20 a piece (yes, a ten-character, single-font, single style, single colour display will set you back at least a couple of hundred dollars)

So, this combines a novel technology with a very low price. Impossible? No, but it isn't likely, either.

Also, I expect the likes of Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung will try and buy this firm, if the product is real. The market for the Braille-reading blind is minute, but imagine having that functionality in the edge of your tablet, in a game controller (configurable tactile key layout), or possibly even on your screen.

Breakthrough Braille Smartphones For The Blind

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