[nabs-l] Braille-It Labeler brings low-cost printing, 'sightless construction' to the blind

[Chris Nusbaum]

Here is the article about the BrailleIt Labeler.  I got an email 
with the link the other day, which I forwarded to the list, but I 
couldn't find the article, and asked my cousin who sent it to me 
to send the text of the article.  Here it is.

 ---- Original Message ------
From: Mathew Orzechowski <42morzo at gmail.com
Subject: Re: Braille-It Labeler brings low-cost printing, 
'sightless construction' to the blind
Date sent: Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:01:55 -0600

Braille-It Labeler brings low-cost printing, 'sightless 
construction' to the blind
By Amar Toor  posted Dec 1st 2011 5:31PM

It's certainly not the first Braille label printer we've seen, 
but Ted Moallem's Braille-It Labeler does bring notably unique 
element to the table -- namely, "sightless construction." 
Presented at this year's A Better World by Design conference, 
this compact device allows blind or visually impaired users to 
print out adhesive labels in Braille, thanks to a simple 
six-button design that's compatible with any Braille alphabet.  
Made out of relatively common materials like aluminum and steel 
wire, the Braille-It can also be constructed by the blind 
themselves -- a potentially groundbreaking development for a 
demographic that's too often ignored by the retail sector.  
Moallem, a former MIT grad student, explains:
Blind people cannot depend on mainstream commercial forces to 
advance the cause of Braille literacy.  Nearly two centuries 
after the invention of Braille by a blind adolescent boy, the 
most widely used Braille-writing tools, the slate and stylus, are 
quite similar to the tools used by Louis Braille himself.  In the 
hands of the sighted, the low-cost Braille industry has 
stagnated.
The inventor tested his label maker at a workshop last year in 
Katpadi, India, where blind trainees successfully taught other 
visually impaired users how to create their very own Braille-It.  
Moallem is now looking to set up similar workshops across other 
locations, including Senegal, Liberia and Lebanon.  The ultimate 
goal is to empower blind consumers to create their own low-cost 
and potentially life-saving tools -- particularly in developing 
countries, which account for an estimated 90 percent of the 
world's blind population.  If successful, Moallem's invention and 
ensuing campaign could provide a remarkably simple solution for a 
large, yet often neglected population.  We certainly wish him the 
best of luck.  Find out more at the source link below, or check 
out Inhabitat's extensive coverage for more images and insight.
On Dec 11, 2011, at 3:06 PM, Chris Nusbaum wrote:

 I wasn't able to find the article on the page with my 
BrailleNote.  Can you just send me the text of the article? I 
might be able to find it on the computer, though; the BrailleNote 
took me to the mobile site.

 ----- Original Message -----
 From: Mathew Orzechowski <42morzo at gmail.com
 To: Christopher Nusbaum <dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com>,Wendy Nusbaum 
<wendynusbaum at yahoo.com
 Date sent: Thu, 1 Dec 2011 19:01:52 -0600
 Subject: Braille-It Labeler brings low-cost printing, 'sightless 
construction' to the blind

 
http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/01/braille-it-labeler-brings-low-
 cost-printing-sightless-construc/


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