Nina Universal Braille Teacher

Here is yet another innovation from N.Krishnaswamy the creator of Universal Braille Kit (UBK)

Nina Universal Braille Teacher is battery operated handheld device which aids teaching and learning of braille alphabets. This model is designed for the English language, but other languages are also supported. The Nina Universal Braille Teacher is available two models, a teacher model built with LEDs to provide visual indicators for sighted teachers and the student model with audio messages only.

The device is manufactured at Workshop For Rehabilitation and Training of the Handicapped (Worth Trust) in India.

If you are interested to procure the device, please do get in touch with Worth Trust.

Worth Trust 48, New Tiruvalam Road
Katpadi, Tamil Nadu (India)
Phone: 0416-2242739 0416-2243464
Email: worth@md3.vsnl.net.in
Website: http://www.worthtrust.org.in

Universal Braille Kit (UBK)

The Universal Braille kit (UBK) is brainchild of octogenarian N.Krishnaswamy. It is designed to teach braille to blind children at home in developing countries with no access to special education. The Universal Braille Kit has a braille cube, an alphabet plate, a braille slate and stylus, a standard abacus and instruction manuals. This kit is produced by Workshop For Rehabilitation and Training of the Handicapped (Worth Trust) in India.

Last year I traveled to Chennai to meet N.Krishnaswamy (NK) at Vidya Vrikshah. We remained in close contact sharing ideas on various braille projects. Last week few accessibility designers met at Worth Trust factory in Katpadi, Tamil Nadu. NK was there, full of energy and ideas. NK never fails to surprise me. " Arky, At my age I am in a terrible hurry" he says with a chuckle. Just as he was leaving I managed to corner him and shot this video.

In this video N.Krishnaswamy explains the story behind the design of the Universal Braille Kit (UBK) and explains the concepts by demonstrating various devices of the kit.

The Universal Braille kit (UBK) from arky on Vimeo.

If you are interested to procure the Universal Braille Kit, please do get in touch with Worth Trust.

• Worth Trust
• 48, New Tiruvalam Road
• Katpadi, Tamil Nadu (India)
• Phone: 0416-2242739 0416-2243464
• Email: worth@md3.vsnl.net.in
• Website: http://www.worthtrust.org.in

Dots braille editor for Linux

Dots is braille typesetting program for gnu/Linux, it can translate XML and MS DOC files and displays it both ASCII and braille dot notation. Dots is in very early stage of development and not as feature rich as commercial braille editors like WinBraille and Duxbury DBT.

The Dots braille editor is available on Debian Sid and Ubuntu Lucid, however it has loads of bugs. I patched few bugs and managed to get it working and save the translated document in .brl format. (see LP: #541721). You can view the screenshots of the program in action below.

Titan Braille Watch Review :: Video

Yoshimi interviews Victor about his new Titan's Braille watch in this video. This well crafted tactile watch for blind is both affordable and sturdy. Braille watches have definite advantages over talking watches, which can be really annoying sometimes. Yoshmini and Victor are the participants of International Institute for Social Entrepreneurs (IISE) and they are both blind.

Titan Braille watch is designed by the Titan Design Studio and is manufactured in India by Tata. The watch come with a special instruction manual in Braille, which has been developed in consultation with the National Association for the Blind. The watch is priced at Rs.995 ($20 US) which is cheaper than other braille watches produced worldwide.

Update: Not surpisingly the ACM article A blind person's interactions with technology reflects the Victor and Yoshimi's ideas in the video

Affordable Braille Display ?

Steve talks about some of the frustrations working with braille displays in this live journal entry Bring On The Braille. I think he speaks for all of us. He writes,
I've been on a constant lookout for affordable braille display technology. For years, this stuff's been anything but. Spending over $2000 for a measley 12 cells is something I would never justify, and the price-to-cell ratio doesn't get much better with the more costly units. Prices have actually come down over the years, and it looks like it may be happening again.

The price is a big barrier. Why can't we have a device that is affordable to all. Braille displays isn't rocket science it is simple enough to build one with a arduino toolkit, I think Edward Rogers(does anyone have his email address?) has built one such device. What do you reckon ?