[Blindmath] Orbit Research Group & TBG announes project for low cost braille display.

[Neal]

Hello:
I thought the following press release would be of interest.
This is not an endorsement.
Cheers,  Neal
Email: Neal at duxsys.com
- - -

Orbit Research and the Transforming Braille Group Announce Agreement to
Produce Low-cost Refreshable Braille Display

WILMINGTON, DE – August 6, 2015 – Orbit Research LLC and the Transforming
Braille Group LLC are pleased to announce an agreement to produce a low
cost, refreshable braille display.

Orbit, an international engineering company based in Wilmington, Delaware,
specialising in high quality, low cost products for blind and partially
sighted people, will be undertaking the research, development and
manufacture of this unique product. 

The Transforming Braille Group LLC is a global consortium of organisations
of and for the blind which is investing $1m in the project.

The objective of the project is to produce a stand-alone 20-cell refreshable
braille display for $300 (or £200) which will bring refreshable braille
within the reach of children in developing countries and will provide
libraries in developed countries with a viable alternative to hard copy
braille. The product will be launched at CSUN in 2016.

The display is designed to work through USB and Bluetooth connectivity with
'smart' phones and tablets. It is not intended to compete with high
specification refreshable braille display already on the market, primarily
used in education and employment but is intended to bring braille displayed
e-books to a wide audience at an economical price.

"The agreement with TBG is a landmark in our journey to develop and
manufacture essential products at an affordable cost through the application
of mainstream technology in unique and innovative ways” said Dr. Gina
Spagnoli, Orbit Research’s Founder.  “While each of our previous products
has brought a multi-fold improvement in the state of the art in terms of
performance, cost, size and features, we are thrilled that through this
partnership with TBG, we will be able to offer a game-changing product that
will impact the daily lives of millions of blind people across the world”

TBG President, Kevin Carey said: "At last we have a technology which will
guarantee the survival of braille. It has been my long-standing, publicly
stated objective to find a disruptive technology which will radically force
down the cost of refreshable braille so that the world's digital content
becomes available in a tactile format. This new device will bring braille
within the price range of educators in developing countries and will enable
most blind people to access e-books and other internet material without
resorting to specialist libraries."

TBG estimates that its new product will retail at a unit cost less than 20%
of the current market price. 

Contact details:
Kevin Carey, President,
Transforming Braille Group LLC           
Tel:  +44(0)1273 834321
Email:  humanity at atlas.co.uk
www.Transformingbraille.org  (under construction)

Carla Morris
Orbit Research LLC
Tel:  1-888-606-7248
Email: morris.carla at orbitresearch.com 
www.orbitresearch.com