[nfbcs] Fw: Thai researchers develop affordable Braille display

[Mike Freeman]

I agree. However, it would be refreshing to see researchers blatantly shout
"GIMME!" rather than touting a potential miracle as only requiring time and
money to make reality. <g>

Mike


-----Original Message-----
From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jim Barbour
Sent: Sunday, December 30, 2012 12:05 PM
To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List
Cc: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Fw: Thai researchers develop affordable Braille display

I'm sure they are. It's pretty hard to do research without funding. The
question is, do they have something worth continuing to fund research for?

I don't understand  The point of this thread,  Research takes time and
doesn't always get finished. Let's wait and see what they have.

Jim

Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 30, 2012, at 11:53 AM, "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com> wrote:

> I suspect that most of the researchers are really fishing for investment
> funds.
> 
> Mike
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim
> Sent: Sunday, December 30, 2012 9:49 AM
> To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Fw: Thai researchers develop affordable Braille
display
> 
> It's amazing how many of these stories there are about researchers making
a
> breakthrough in developing inexpensive braille displays. I'll bet I've
seen
> 10 of them in the last 5 years. It's amazing to me that the raised soenoid
> technology still dominates. I'd have thought that by now, one of these
> breakthroughs would have been legitimate. 
> 
> 
> On Dec 30, 2012, at 8:46 AM, Tracy Carcione wrote:
> 
>> 
>> Thai researchers develop affordable braille display
>> 
>> Asia-Pacific, Dec 27, 2012
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> THAILAND: Thai researchers say they have developed a new and cheaper way
> for people who are blind to read text from a computer.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> A team at the Synchrotron Light Research Centre in Nakhon Ratchasima said
> they have developed a Braille display with polymer cylinders that react to
> light
>> 
>> rays to help people with vision disabilities read text.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> While computer-connected Braille displays are not new, Synchrotron's
> innovation is the first of its kind in the world, and is much cheaper than
> other types
>> 
>> of Braille displays, researcher Rungrueng Phatthanakun said.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Synchrotron is the name of an accelerator, a machine that speeds up
> electrons in the machine's magnetic field to produce light.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> The light produces an x-ray which then causes tiny cylinders made out of
a
> polymer substance on the reading display to move up and down beneath the
> reader's
>> 
>> fingers as "raised dots" of Braille alphabets.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Mr Rungrueng said his team had made a Braille display suitable for
reading
> Thai script.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> However, users at Nakhon Ratchasima's school for the blind found the
> display gives only a 67% accuracy in reading Thai words. English-reading
> accuracy was
>> 
>> measured at 83%.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> While some foreign Braille displays cost more than 300,000 baht a unit,
> the researchers expect to sell their new displays for about 50,000 apiece,
> Mr Rungrueng
>> 
>> said.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> His team is seeking a patent for the innovation, and improving the device
> to help users read electronic texts more accurately. The team also plans
to
> develop
>> 
>> Braille displays compatible with tablet computers and smart phones.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Source: Bangkok Post
>> 
>> ===
>> 
>> If we assume this Braille display would cost about on-sixth the price of
> the displays we know, it would put it at about $500, still pretty step for
a
> lot of people.  But it is interesting.
>> 
>> David
>> 
>> 
>> 
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