Microfluidics based Braille display

Written By Rohit M

Problem

Most printed books are inaccessible to the visually impaired

  • 33 million visually impaired in the world

  • Around 600,000 children in have severe sight problems

  • < 1% of published books available in braille

  • 50% of blind students drop out due to reading difficulties

  • 70% of adults that are blind become unemployed

Survey: Expert opinions

Cristina Hedlich - Occupational Therapist/Low Vision Specialist at the Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired

  • “They can’t walk into a library like you or I and take a book off the shelf and read it unless they have an OCR device and know how to use it.  These devices are expensive and that is a huge barrier for many.”

Brent Perzentka - Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist at the Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired

  • “There have been studies to try and find easier ways to read tactilely, like raised print, but those did not have much success.”

Product Idea

A product that will allow the visually impaired to pick up and read any regular printed book or reading material even though they are not in Braille format.

Solution Definition

Invent a product that can recognize the text from a book or an electronic device and display it in Braille in the cheapest and most space-efficient way.

Part 2: Recognize characters on devices and physical documents

Part 1: Create a braille display

Part 3: Connect the two parts together

I reviewed several methods to activate the dots on the braille device. Each one had pros and cons as shown in the above image. I found that a fluid filled LDPE tube to be best suited for my device. This tube was sturdy, easy to construct and most importantly required very low electrical power to actuate.

I iterated through multiple designs until I found the optimal mix of materials, heat and fluid to build the soft pneumatic actuator

Innovative Design - Soft pneumatic Actuator

  • Fluid filled LDPE microtube

  • Pressure differential applied on one end of the micro-tube using electromagnetic solenoid

  • Fluid accumulates on the other end

  • Diameter of the micro-tube expands and the micro-tube flexes

  • Actuates the braille dot to pop out

  • Removing pressure causes microtube to return to normal shape

  • Braille dot pops back down

Value Proposition and Social Benefits

  • Literacy is a fundamental right for all - even for visually impaired

  • My invention helps to democratize  reading

  • Visually impaired will

    • More likely complete high School and higher education

    • More likely to seek and retain employment, economically independent

    • Improve the quality of life

    • Be a productive citizen

  • No other product makes regular printed book accessible to the visually impaired

  • Cost effective, sustainable

  • Slim/small form factor

  • Can use sustainable energy source

  • Innovative soft pneumatic actuators

References

Rohit M
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