Help Develop a Low-cost Braille Display!

Help develop a low-cost braille display!

Out of the 40 million blind people in the world, only 10% can read and write braille.

One of the main reasons for this is the lack of affordable braille technology in the digital era.

Commercially available braille displays are expensive due to their peizo-electric actuated pins.

Braille literacy is crucial for the education and employment of the visually impaired, yet it is becoming increasingly out of reach due to the cost.

That's why we're developing Brailletouch, an open-source project aimed at reducing the cost of a braille display by 90%.

With the help of volunteers, we aim to create a display that is affordable and accessible to visually impaired and deafblind people worldwide.

Our design uses a physical encoder and a virtual braille display of 40 touch sensors placed in a matrix to gradually display braille text in a single braille cell.

The cost reduction is achieved by using 40 virtual cells and a single physical braille cell, which can be made from 3D printed parts.

Currently, a braille display costs between $1200 and $6000. Our goal is to produce a screen for between $100 and $150, making it accessible to everyone.

We need your help! We're looking for microcontroller programmers, 3D designers, HiD protocol handlers, language translators, documentation developers, and financial supporters.

If you can support us or know someone who can, please contact us at +584129994784 or visit our repository at https://github.com/brailletouch/Brailletouch.

Together, we can make a difference in the lives of millions of visually impaired and deafblind people around the world.

Physical Device Design:

• Braille Cell
• Matrix Line of 40 Touch Sensors
• Buttons
• Box

Electronics and Firmware:

• ESP32 and selection of power source (batteries or jack)
• PWM controller
• .ino code using the Arduino IDE

Interface with Free Code Screen Reader:

• NVDA (Windows)
• BrailleBack (Android)
• BRLTTY (Linux, Android, Windows)