Design Opens Door to 'Full Screen' Braille Displays

New research is moving us closer to the development of a display system that would allow the blind to take full advantage of the Web and other computer applications.

"Right now, electronic Braille displays typically only show one line of text at a time. And they're very expensive," says Neil Di Spigna, a research assistant professor at North Carolina (NC) State University.

In order to develop a more functional, and affordable, tool that would allow the blind to interface with their computers, Di Spigna and his colleagues are working to develop a full-page, refreshable Braille display. Braille uses a series of raised dots to represent letters and numbers, allowing blind people to read.

Such a display would also translate images into tactile displays, effectively mapping pixels in an image and allowing the full-page Braille display to represent the images as raised dots.

The researchers have developed a concept called a "hydraulic and latching mechanism," which would allow the development of such a display system. The mechanism would be made of an electroactive polymer that is very resilient and inexpensive, when compared to current Braille display technologies.

"This material will allow us to raise dots to the correct height, so they can be read," says Peichun Yang, a postdoctoral research associate at NC State. "Once the dots are raised, a latching mechanism would support the weight being applied by a person's fingers as the dots are read. The material also responds quickly, allowing a reader to scroll through a document or Web site quickly."

The researchers recently presented their findings on the hydraulic component of the mechanism, showing that it is a viable technology. The next step is to demonstrate a proof-of-concept model of the latching mechanism. "We hope to have a fully functioning prototype of the mechanism within a year," Di Spigna says, "and that could serve as the functional building block of a full-screen refreshable display."

"Reading Braille is essential to allowing blind people to find employment," says Yang, who is blind. "We're optimistic that this technology will give the blind additional opportunities in this area."

REHACARE.de; Source: North Carolina State University

- More about the North Carolina State University at www.ncsu.edu

( Source: REHACARE.de )

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