Currently, there are no full page Braille display devices on the market. Despite the desirability and obvious benefits of such a product, traditional engineering approaches have resulted in manufacturing designs which are prohibitively expensive to produce. After critical examination of dozens of alternative approaches, NOVCOM's proposed Phase I approach offers the potential to achieve full page Braille text and graphics capability on a wide variety of micro-computers and mainframes. The proposed approach features an efficient electromechanical mechanism together with predominant use of low cost, high quality, materials. These innovative factors enable a projected final product cost which could be as low as $500.00 per unit. The achievement of this goal will require feasibility demonstration of two critical components of the Braille display design during Phase I: namely, the display head mechanism, and the individual Braille character mechanism. Successful demonstration of these two fundamental components developed during Phase I will enable completion of a full page display device prototype during Phase II.Anticipated results/
Potential Commercial Applications: The full page Braille display device resulting from the proposed research would possess greatly superior capabilities when compared to the limited display devices currently available. In addition, the projected low cost of the proposed device, together with its compatibility with many micro-computers, would enable large populations of visually impaired persons to benefit. Educational programs for the visually impaired would be favorably impacted since the power of the micro-computer could be efficiently harnessed to educate visually impaired. The production of educational computer software utilizing dynamic Braille displays would be possible at unprecedented low cost. Since Braille is an internationally accepted communications medium for the visually impaired, the commercial applications of the proposed display device are quite significant.
