[Nfbmo] Fw: [nfbmi-talk] full screen Braille display

Fri Apr 2 02:02:50 UTC 2010

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Christine Boone" <Christine_Boone at comcast.net>
To: "'NFB of Michigan List'" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2010 7:48 PM
Subject: [nfbmi-talk] full screen Braille display


>
>
>
> Breakthrough Design Opens Door to 'Full Screen' Braille Displays for the
> Blind
> ScienceDaily (Mar. 29, 2010)
> - Imagine if your computer only allowed you to see one line at a time, no
> matter
> what you were doing -- reading e-mail, looking at a Web site, doing
> research. That's
> the challenge facing blind computer users today. But new research from 
> North
> Carolina
> State University is moving us closer to the development of a display 
> system
> that
> would allow the blind to take full advantage of the Web and other computer
> applications.
> See Also:
> Health & Medicine
> Eye Care
> Disability
> Workplace Health
> Computers & Math
> Computer Science
> Communications
> Internet
> Reference
> Blindness
> User interface design
> Double blind
> Quantum dot
> "Right now, electronic Braille displays typically only show one line of 
> text
> at a
> time. And they're very expensive," says Dr. Neil Di Spigna, a research
> assistant
> professor at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the research. In
> order
> to develop a more functional, and affordable, tool that would allow the
> blind to
> interface with their computers, Di Spigna and his colleagues are working 
> to
> develop
> a full-page, refreshable Braille display. Braille uses a series of raised
> dots to
> represent letters and numbers, allowing blind people to read.
> Such a display would also translate images into tactile displays,
> effectively mapping
> pixels in an image and allowing the full-page Braille display to represent
> the images
> as raised dots.
> The researchers have developed a concept called a "hydraulic and latching
> mechanism,"
> which would allow the development of such a display system. The mechanism
> would be
> made of an electroactive polymer that is very resilient and inexpensive,
> when compared
> to current Braille display technologies. "This material will allow us to
> raise dots
> to the correct height, so they can be read," says Dr. Peichun Yang, a
> postdoctoral
> research associate at NC State and co-author of the paper. "Once the dots
> are raised,
> a latching mechanism would support the weight being applied by a person's
> fingers
> as the dots are read. The material also responds quickly, allowing a 
> reader
> to scroll
> through a document or Web site quickly."
> Earlier this month, the researchers presented their findings on the
> hydraulic component
> of the mechanism, showing that it is a viable technology. The next step is
> to demonstrate
> a proof-of-concept model of the latching mechanism. "We hope to have a 
> fully
> functioning
> prototype of the mechanism within a year," Di Spigna says, "and that could
> serve
> as the functional building block of a full-screen refreshable display."
> "Reading Braille is essential to allowing blind people to find 
> employment,"
> says
> Yang, who is blind. "We're optimistic that this technology will give the
> blind additional
> opportunities in this area."
> "The last 20 years of computer technology have been relatively 
> inaccessible
> -- and
> today's common mobile computing devices, from smart-phones to digital
> navigators
> and iPads, have been completely nonexistent -- to blind people, because 
> the
> display
> technology for the blind has not kept pace," says David Winick, a 
> researcher
> at NC
> State and co-author of the paper. "We hope to enable the development of
> applications
> that will give the blind more complete access to the internet and other
> computer
> resources, such as e-books."
> The research, "The integration of novel EAP-based Braille cells for use in 
> a
> refreshable
> tactile display," was presented March 8 at the 12th International 
> Conference
> on Electroactive
> Polymer Actuators And Devices in San Diego. The work was funded by the
> National Institute
> of Disability and Rehabilitation Research, which is part of the U.S.
> Department of
> Education. The work was co-authored by Di Spigna, Yang, Winick,
> Parthasarathi Chakraborti,
> an NC State graduate student, Dr. Tushar Ghosh, a professor of textile
> engineering
> chemistry and science, and Dr. Paul Franzon, a professor of electrical and
> computer
> engineering.
> NC State's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is part of 
> the
> university's
> College of Engineering. NC State's Department of Textile Engineering,
> Chemistry and
> Science is part of the university's College of Engineering and its College
> of Textiles.
> Email or share this story:
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> Story Source:
> Adapted from materials provided by
> North Carolina State University
> .
> Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of the
> following
> formats:
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> MLA
> North Carolina State University (2010, March 29). Breakthrough design 
> opens
> door
> to 'full screen' Braille displays for the blind.
> ScienceDaily
> . Retrieved April 1, 2010, from http://www.scienced 
> <http://www.sciencedaily.com-> aily.com-
> /releases/2010/03/100329093611.htm?utm_source=fee
>
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