Haptic Braille is a mouse-type portable Braille translator and scanner. It scans any printed material, recognises the characters via OCR (optical character recognition) and translates them into Braille on the surface of the device.

We obtain a lot of new information every day from printed materials such as newspapers, magazines, and letters. New information is invaluable to people living in the fast-changing modern world. The visually impaired however, can only read the small amount of information that is printed in Braille. Publishing Braille takes time, and in the case of regular news, information will soon be out of date.

Using Haptic Braille to read printed matter bears resemblance to the use of the fingertips to read Braille directly. As such, the user’s sense of uneasiness about employing a novel device should be minimal. Haptic Braille has been designed to allow an easy grip, like a computer mouse. Reading the Braille it generates after scanning printed matter is simple and intuitive.

Another advantage of Haptic Braille is its mobility. It is convenient to carry so that it can be used anywhere at any time. In public transport, in public libraries, or at home, users can simply place the device on whatever materials they wish to read. Haptic Braille enables the visually impaired to read printed materials as soon as they are available, without having to wait for them to be printed in Braille. It will also contribute to environmental protection by saving the paper, time, and cost involved in Braille printing.