MONITOR
CHARITY
Information Technologists support a new prototype for
world’s first multiline Braille ebook reader
F
or many blind people Braille is literacy. Braille teaching
and usage has been falling for decades and, according to
some sources, are now in danger of entering terminal
decline. A prototype for the world’s first multiline Braille ebook
reader, called Canute, is intended to help reverse this decline by
being multiline and radically affordable.
Bristol Braille Technology (BBT), a not-for-profit Community
Interest Company run by volunteers, has successfully
demonstrated a 4 line prototype of Canute which will cost less
than a Braille typewriter and a fraction of the price of existing
single line displays. Canute is controlled from an internal
Raspberry Pi computer running Raspbian Linux. All Computer
Aided Design is done in the Open Source OpenSCAD
programme, which is entirely textual and will be editable by
blind designers using the Canute itself.
“Braillists were
overwhelmingly
positive about Canute
and its potential
impact on Braille
literacy”
Throughout the development of this new technology the WCIT
IT Accessibility Panel has been offering pro-bono support to
Bristol Braille Technology to help add leverage to a donation
from the WCIT Charity. Other parties involved have been iNet
Microelectronics, iNet Biomedical, the School for Social
Entrepreneurs, Blatchington Court Trust, The Product
Development Centre and The Engineering Innovation Network.
Recently BBT presented the Canute prototype to a group of a
dozen Braillists in the Pervasive Media Studio, central Bristol.
The group, who meet every other month from around the country
to discuss advances in Braille technology, were overwhelmingly
positive about Canute and its potential impact on Braille literacy.
The group discussed the advantages of Canute’s intended final
format of 28 characters by 8 lines and agreed that such a device
would be a great boon to schools and colleges, would encourage
greater adoption of Braille, not least in developing countries, and
would allow individuals the freedom to purchase their own
devices without subsidy.
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BBT are protecting Canute’s IP with patents (pending) and
licences, which will allow them to ensure that all
improvements to the design must be fed back to the
community.
Canute is intended to be primarily a reading device, a
Braille ebook reader, as opposed to an advanced editing
tool. The Braillists therefore discussed how Canute could
compliment rather than replace existing single line Braille
displays as a secondary ‘screen’, especially in STEM
subjects where the multiline context of tables and formulae
are invaluable.
At the conclusion of the meeting Canute’s ability to double
up as an embosser was successfully tested. This, it was
agreed, meant schools and colleges that could only afford a
single unit could use it to emboss material for the entire
class, and that individuals could emboss quick notes,
shopping lists, recipes or letters directly off Canute’s
surface.
Ed Rogers, Founder and Director of Bristol Braille
Technology, said:
“Monday was the fruit of almost two years’ work from the
team, so it was great to see all their efforts finally
validated. We’re looking forward to developing Canute
further over the next year as we prepare for manufacture,
and are now keener than ever to work with institutions and
companies with an interest in furthering the cause of
universal literacy.”
“This process has completely exhausted our funds (and
several team members), but left us with a demonstrable
success, which we intend to use to raise the funds to go to
manufacture. This success was only made possible due to
the Information Technologists backing”
Contributed by Ed Rogers, Director of
Bristol Braille Technology Ltd.