Refreshable Braille Display With Adjustable Cell Size for Learners With Different Tactile Sensitivity.

Abstract

Braille is one of the most popular mediums of education for the blind. However, learning braille requires trainers and a lot of practice. Additionally, different individuals have different levels of tactile sensitivity at their fingertips. The tactile components get often overlooked in most braille learning devices and related studies. Our solution is a single cell refreshable braille display with six custom-made electromechanical flapper actuators. It incorporates speech functionalities to facilitate self-learning and independent operation. The cell size can be adjusted according to the learner's preference by moving the actuators. The device can provide standard braille cell dimensions and elevation as well. It is designed to help learners with different tactile perceptions improve themselves through practice and adapt to standard size braille. The operational conditions and force analysis of the braille dots were performed. Two tests were also performed with two different cell sizes to evaluate the device with several blind students. The device is very affordable and easy to maintain. It can also be used to teach braille to the sighted.