Braille technology
firm builds 'Kindle for the blind'
LONDON (Reuters) - A British company plans to
launch a Braille e-reader for blind people this year that should greatly
enhance their reading experience and spare them from lugging around hefty print
volumes.
Since it was
developed by Louis Braille in the 19th Century, the alphabet of raised dots has
brought the joy of reading to millions of blind and partially-sighted people.
But in its
printed form it’s not exactly convenient or portable: A Braille copy of the
Bible can take up about 5 feet (1.5 meters) of shelf space.
British firm
Bristol Braille Technology hopes to change this with Canute 360, their new
‘Kindle for the blind’ which it says is the world’s first multi-line Braille
e-reader, displaying nine lines of text at a time, or about a third of a page
of regular print.
“This means
you only have to press the forward button every 360 characters rather than
every 20,” said Stephanie Sergeant, whose company Vision Through Sound provides
training for blind people and has been working with Bristol Braille.
“It
refreshes a line at a time, starting at the top. So even though it takes a
little while for all the lines to refresh, you can start reading almost as soon
as you press the forward key.”
Any text
that has been translated into Braille format can be downloaded into the Canute,
potentially putting an endless supply of reading material at the user’s
fingertips.
But Bristol
Braille says learning to read it can significantly boost literacy and numeracy
rates among the blind.
The final
prototype of Canute will enter mass production this year, priced similar to a
high-end laptop.
“Innovations
in the field of Braille technology make this a very exciting time for Braille
readers,” said Claire Maxwell, senior product developer for Braille at the
Royal National Institute of Blind People.
Regards
Mr. Pralhad Jadhav
Research
Scholar (IGNOU)
Senior
Manager @ Knowledge Repository
Khaitan
& Co
Mobile @
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