[Nfbf-l] 7th grader Builds braille Printer from Legos

[Alan Dicey]

Student Develops Braille Printer with Legos Americas February 6, 2014
SANTA CLARA: Shubham Banerjee, a San Francisco Bay Area seventh grade 
student, has developed BRAIGO, a Braille printer using Lego Mindstorms EV3, 
which slashes the price of a printer from more than $2000 to $350, thereby 
giving a more cost-effective printer. Braille Printer Braille Printer. 
Photo: India West
According to WHO reports, there are an estimated 285 million people with 
vision disabilities worldwide, 90 percent of whom lives in developing 
countries. At this moment, the cost of a Braille printer is more than $2000 
for a basic version, which means many millions of people across the world 
have limited access.
Banerjee's project uses the Lego Mindstorms EV3 kit costing $349 and some 
add-ons from Home Depot costing another $5.
Theproject uses the base reference model known as Banner Print3r and was 
redesigned with totally new software to print the letters A-Z. The project 
is named BRAIGO v1.0, short for Braille with LEGO. Banerjee wishes to make 
this project open source with the design and software readily available for 
public consumption free of charge. It will thus give a new tool in the hands 
of blind institutions or even parents with children with vision disabilities 
to use this printer at an 80 percent savings from commercially available 
products out in the market.
The young Indian American student has already received a special recognition 
for his project on behalf of the California State Assembly and public 
reception to the concept was overwhelming.
Banerjee was born in Hasselt, Belgium, to Indian parents. He moved to San 
Jose, Calif., when he was 3 years old.
Later, he moved to Santa Clara and finished his elementary schooling at Don 
Callejon School. He joined Magnolia Science Academy in Santa Clara in middle 
school for a couple of months, before moving to Champion School in San Jose, 
where he is in the 7th grade.
Source: India West
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