A prototype of a Refreshable Braille Display (RBD) has been developed by students of IIT-Delhi to assist visually challenged persons. Saurabh Sanyal and Prabal Goyal,both B Tech students at IIT-D,prepared this as part of their final year project. The device helps the visually challenged recognise text,graphics,figures and shapes based on electromagnetic actuators and an array of pins. The device looks like an iPad of A4 size,and has a surface of pins that will help the user recognise the shape or text, said Saurabh. Using a 5x5 array of electromagnetic actuators,the RBD takes up an input image,processes it and produces a tactile output. According to Saurabh,the only available RBDs in the market are imported from the UK,and cost between Rs 3 and Rs 5 lakh. RBDs are electronic devices used to read text tactually,which is usually displayed visually on a computer monitor. The refreshable braille display is connected to the computer by a serial or USB cable and produces braille output (with small plastic or metal pins that move up and down to display the braille characters) for the reader. In the prototype,low-cost electromagnetic actuators have been used. It will enable the visually challenged to realise the characters,geometries and process the digital information that is presented on the computer screen. The concept can be extended to larger grid sizes,which can be used for full page displays.
