[Nfbespanol-talk] The Center for Braille Innovation, (CBI)

Frida Aizenman aizenman at earthlink.net
Sun Feb 21 17:06:43 UTC 2010


Providing the Fundamental Tools: Braille Books
by Brian A. MacDonald

A book is simply the receptacle or container, the method
one conserves, stores, and keeps information in so that it can be
referenced and shared with others. Of course the physical form of that book
has changed over time based on materials available and technologies to
produce it.
      Let's turn back, for those who remember the Wayback machine, and take
a quick journey back in time to the first book. It wasn't very portable,
since it weighed a few tons and was made of stone. And you thought a
Braille book was cumbersome. These go back to the caves, cave paintings in
southwestern France from approximately thirty-two thousand years ago. Fast
forward to five thousand years ago when hieroglyphics were started in
Mesopotamia. The kings of Assyria had libraries there in the city of
Nineveh, which today would be across the Tigris River from Mosul in Iraq.
Over twenty-two thousand clay tablets were found there. These hieroglyphic
symbols were carved in soft, moist clay and then baked to make the tablets.
It's interesting to note that the depth and the way these unique symbols
were carved might have been readable like a Braille graphic today.
      Many other materials were used in different parts of the world, such
as wax, tree bark, bamboo, and silk. One could even argue that tribal
tattoos could be considered a book. Over time there have been lots of
languages and codes that have been used, but the common denominator has
been that authors wanted to pass on information through their experiences,
stories, and knowledge to document religion, wars, and history that could
be shared with future generations.
     Last October National Braille Press founded the Center for Braille
Innovation (CBI). The CBI's mission is to focus specifically on
Braille technologies that can improve the Braille and tactile-graphic
production process and to develop truly affordable Braille tools beyond our
books for the blindness community. CBI is National Braille Press's think
tank, part virtual, part bricks and mortar, that wraps around our strategic
plan and looks for these solutions.
      We have put together a team of great engineers, inventors,
entrepreneurs, and researchers that have made the commitment to bring
affordable products to market, including refreshable Braille devices. Team
CBI, as they have named themselves, includes people with backgrounds from
IBM and Motorola. Members include the inventor of Bluetooth and the Razor
phone, representatives from private engineering firms, and support from a
list of distinguished universities in the United States and overseas. Yes,
it's like the crusades in the search for the holy Braille.
For your reference , there are names that may be familiar to some of you. One pioneer
working with us is Deane Blazie. A positive side of this technology is that
it's changing more rapidly than ever before, and it's these new
technologies that provide the promise of new and affordable production
methods and lower costs.
We're the toolmaker in the toolshed,
tinkering away, and Braille books will always be that fundamental tool.
The challenge to all of you Federationists out there, is
to help us keep Braille alive. 
The way one defines a book has changed
over time due to material used and technologies developed. The Center for
Braille Innovation is looking at every conceivable cutting-edge technology
and resource to develop and create better, more affordable interactive
tools for Braille literacy.
Source:
      BRAILLE MONITOR
February 2010
http://www.nfb.org/images/nfb/Publications/bm/bm10/bm1002/bm100204.htm



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