[nabs-l] FW: [Blindtlk] Open Source Braille Display -- IndieGoGo

[David Andrews]

The proposal mentions 40 cells.

Dave

At 07:35 PM 12/31/2011, you wrote:
>Hopefully he'll get it.
>I'd like to know how many cells he's going to have on it, though.
>Blessings, Joshua
>
>On 12/31/11, David Andrews <dandrews at visi.com> wrote:
> > If you actually read the message3 you would have seen that there is
> > not yet a Braille display.  The guy has some ideas and is looking for
> > funding.
> >
> > Dave
> >
> > At 06:44 PM 12/31/2011, you wrote:
> >>How many cells are on this new Braille display?
> >>Also, why do the current ones cost so much?
> >>That's like the IBill!
> >>The IBill is small, but it costs $100.
> >>It's the size of a Giga-pet, like I got as a child.
> >>I only paid $5, for the giga-pet, but they expect me to pay $100 for
> >>something, the same size!
> >>Wow!
> >>They should price things by size.
> >>Blessings, Joshua
> >>
> >>On 12/31/11, Ashley Bramlett <bookwormahb at earthlink.net> wrote:
> >> > wonder when it will be ready for sale. I'd like braille displays to be
> >> > more
> >> > affordable. Even $500 would be better than the thousands they are now.
> >> >
> >> > -----Original Message-----
> >> > From: Humberto Avila
> >> > Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2011 10:00 PM
> >> > To: shaneread at fastmail.fm ; jessbrl at fastmail.fm ; deniserob at gmail.com ;
> >> > nabs-l at nfbnet.org ; GUI-talk at nfbnet.org ; villagers at gmail.com
> >> > Subject: [nabs-l] FW: [Blindtlk] Open Source Braille Display --
> >> > IndieGoGo
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > -----Original Message-----
> >> > From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> >> > On
> >> > Behalf Of David Andrews
> >> > Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2011 12:03 PM
> >> > To: david.andrews at nfbnet.org
> >> > Subject: [Blindtlk] Open Source Braille Display -- IndieGoGo
> >> >
> >> > Subject: Open Source Braille Display -- IndieGoGo
> >> >
> >> > http://www.indiegogo.com/Open-Source-Braille-Display
> >> >
> >> > The Story
> >> >
> >> > This project started earlier this year when I
> >> > read a local author's book of life as a Blind
> >> > person. After contacting him, I decided I could best help by
> >> > designing a simple device to make low-cost
> >> > Braille display from a computer possible.
> >> >
> >> > So Will It Change the World?
> >> >
> >> > I hope so - or I wouldn't be working on it!
> >> >
> >> > Braille is to the Blind as the written word is to
> >> > us sighted folk - and so Braille literacy is
> >> > vitally important. Yet according to Wikipedia, while in 1960
> >> > half of blind American schoolchildren could read
> >> > Braille, in 2007, that number had dropped to one
> >> > in ten. To improve literacy, we need to make available
> >> > more ways to access and learn Braille - and an
> >> > important one is a tool to allow the Blind to
> >> > read the vast amounts of information on the Internet.
> >> >
> >> > For many years, Braille readers have done just
> >> > that. A Braille reader takes computer text and
> >> > turns it into tactile impressions of Braille characters for
> >> > the blind to 'read'. However, these devices are
> >> > expensive - thousands of dollars - and so few can
> >> > afford them. The goal of this project is to make an Open
> >> > Source/Open Hardware Braille reader: simpler,
> >> > easy to build, well documented, and inexpensive,
> >> > so people anywhere can make it themselves (or get it made
> >> > locally).
> >> >
> >> > But there's a second goal: to get people doing
> >> > more. This design is meant to be simple and cheap
> >> > to build. My hope is other, smarter people will step in
> >> > and build better, faster, and more powerful
> >> > devices. But nobody is doing it now, and so
> >> > someone has to start the ball rolling.
> >> >
> >> > With your help, this will be that ball...
> >> >
> >> > What You Can Do
> >> >
> >> > The goal is to get from the current first
> >> > prototype to a finished design for a 40-character
> >> > Braille display, complete with software, and all the details
> >> > people need to build it, placed online. To that
> >> > end, here's some of the things needed:
> >> > list of 4 items
> >> > . Small CNC machine (build or buy), to do faster
> >> > turnaround of prototype parts.
> >> > . Purchase a selection of stepper motors and
> >> > driver boards, to test different
> >> > price/performance ratios for the Braille display design.
> >> > . Get a low-cost netbook to prototype the exact
> >> > software to run a device (netbook rather than a
> >> > full computer so as to test the device in the most likely
> >> > 'real world' situation).
> >> > . Materials! Prototypes use up a lot of material,
> >> > as a part can get tweaked many times, each time requiring a new piece
> >> > cut
> >> > out.
> >> > list end
> >> >
> >> > Make no mistake - the project IS going ahead,
> >> > whether a little or a lot of money comes in - the
> >> > difference is just the speed things happen! So when this
> >> > project is out there making the difference I hope
> >> > it will, ask yourself how good it will feel to
> >> > say 'I helped with that' - and please contribute!
> >> >
> >> > Any level is appreciated, and there's some 'thank
> >> > yous' listed on the right side of this page to show appreciate
> >> for your aid.
> >> >
> >> > Progress will be discussed on my blog,
> >> > http://UtopiaMechanicus.com,
> >> > and designs will be made available there as they
> >> > are finished. All code and design will also be
> >> > made available for download, allowing people to make or
> >> > modify these products.
> >> >
> >> > What (Else) You Can Do
> >> >
> >> > Tell the world - the more people that know of
> >> > this project, the greater impact we can make.
> >> > Blog about it, tweet away, link to it, talk about it at work.
> >> > And please share this information with everyone and anyone.