Soon, Blind people will get their own Smartphones dedicated just for them based Braille pattern, and will be able to send/read SMSs, pictures on this first of its kind smartphone which converts all text into Braille patterns. The phone is set to be launched in India first read on below for interesting features this phone have.
Earlier there has been claims of developing smartphones for blind such as - Qualcomm developed a smartphones called Ray for visually impaired but it works on voice recognition and finger movements in different directions and then came Georgie, created by Mr Wilson-Hinds and his wife who himself are blind, but it's rather a pack of apps for android phones and its more of a voice based app and has limited features.
This new smartphone developed in India is world's first smartphone based on blind's script called - 'Braille', this braille phone is a phone for Blind users. Its primary medium of communication is a haptic touch screen that allows users to "feel" the information on the screen. Using height mapping, the device will be able to project information ranging from textual (Braille), images, and animations and videos.
The interesting parts that this phone is that its more than a smartphone for blind and indeed a companion, this is what that put this phone far ahead than other phones/apps for visually impaired/ blinds which have been created earlier and some of the unique and distinguished features are:
- It is based on Braille pattern which makes it multi-lingual and people from any region across the globe speaking/reading different languages can use it. (unlike to phones/ apps for blinds where people who don't know English can't use it )
- It can capture/scan visuals/pictures and convert them into Braille pattern.
- It can scan text from sources such as newspaper, text document and convert them to braille pattern.
The company behind Braille smartphones is incubated by CIIE, IIM Ahmedabad and self-funded by its creator Sumeet Dagar a designer/innovator and TED fellow post-graduated from National Institute of Design, Sumit collaborated with IIT Delhi and LV Prasad Eye Institute Hyderabad to conceptualize the prototype this braille based phone.
How It Works -
- The smartphone uses Shape Memory Alloy technology, based on the concept that metals remember their original shapes, i.e. expand and contract to its original shape after use.
- The phone's 'screen' has a grid of pins, which move up and down as per requirement. The grid has a Braille display, where pins come up to represent a character or letter.
- This screen will be capable of elevating and depressing the contents to form patterns in Braille.
- All other elements are like any other smartphone.
Creator of this smartphone Delhi based Sumit has won prestigious Young Laureate award and US$50,000 from Rolex in December 2012.
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