Braille ebook for the blind
A consortium funded by the European Union is developing a special display in Braille for reading electronic books. The developers believe that their product will be able to help the visually impaired and the blind to fully gain access to such an opportunity as reading e-books for the first time.
The Anagraphs device, which can be connected to any e-book or personal computer, uses a resistive touch screen to create braille points and to form text using wax.
Compared with the already existing electronic technology for the formation of Braille, when using a field with holes and special retractable pins, this development is not only easier, but also cheaper to produce.
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“Device availability has been one of the top priorities since the start of Anagraphs development,” says Peter Fowell, project manager for Anagraphs at Pera Technology, a company acting as a project coordinator in a consortium.
“Devices that form Braille based on pin technology, before that, were, in fact, only a scale model of Braille digital technology. Among other things, these devices were very expensive to manufacture. Our goal is to reduce the cost of the device by using wax in the font formation process and to ensure that as many people as possible can read. The Anagraphs project gives us this opportunity because it has a lower cost compared to the existing text-forming devices that use the principle of creating one line of Braille in their work. "
The device uses a so-called thermo-hydraulic micro-response in combination with software developed by Pera Technology, which allows you to display up to 6,000 Braille points on the screen. When using a screen, resistive heating occurs, which expands paraffin waxes, transferring them from a liquid to a solid state.
The Anagraphs team with the participation of researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute of Photonic ICs (Germany), as well as private companies CK Productions, Innora, and Hobart Lasers believe that the blind and visually impaired will finally get access to the treasures of world literature thanks to one a small portable device that allows you to replace a huge library.
“In an era when consumers and technology are irrevocably intertwined with each other in our daily life, the ability to read e-books provides another tool for understanding the world around us,” explained Peter. “Considering how far consumer technologies have advanced in such a short period of time, it is extremely important for us that everyone, regardless of their physical abilities, could equally use the achievements of scientific research in this area.”
The Anagraphs project received funding of £ 1.23m under the EU program and is currently in the final stages of development.
The Anagraphs device, which can be connected to any e-book or personal computer, uses a resistive touch screen to create braille points and to form text using wax.
Compared with the already existing electronic technology for the formation of Braille, when using a field with holes and special retractable pins, this development is not only easier, but also cheaper to produce.
')
“Device availability has been one of the top priorities since the start of Anagraphs development,” says Peter Fowell, project manager for Anagraphs at Pera Technology, a company acting as a project coordinator in a consortium.
“Devices that form Braille based on pin technology, before that, were, in fact, only a scale model of Braille digital technology. Among other things, these devices were very expensive to manufacture. Our goal is to reduce the cost of the device by using wax in the font formation process and to ensure that as many people as possible can read. The Anagraphs project gives us this opportunity because it has a lower cost compared to the existing text-forming devices that use the principle of creating one line of Braille in their work. "
The device uses a so-called thermo-hydraulic micro-response in combination with software developed by Pera Technology, which allows you to display up to 6,000 Braille points on the screen. When using a screen, resistive heating occurs, which expands paraffin waxes, transferring them from a liquid to a solid state.
The Anagraphs team with the participation of researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute of Photonic ICs (Germany), as well as private companies CK Productions, Innora, and Hobart Lasers believe that the blind and visually impaired will finally get access to the treasures of world literature thanks to one a small portable device that allows you to replace a huge library.
“In an era when consumers and technology are irrevocably intertwined with each other in our daily life, the ability to read e-books provides another tool for understanding the world around us,” explained Peter. “Considering how far consumer technologies have advanced in such a short period of time, it is extremely important for us that everyone, regardless of their physical abilities, could equally use the achievements of scientific research in this area.”
The Anagraphs project received funding of £ 1.23m under the EU program and is currently in the final stages of development.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/228269/
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