Braille readers are generally extremely complex mechanically, relying on hundreds of tiny hinges and gears to raise and lower the pins on demand — and they must also be robust enough to withstand constant pressure from touching. We’ve seen various innovations over the years from research institutions, but none have really made it to market. Dot is trying to change all that with not just better, more capable hardware but also deeper integrations with smartphones and tablets.
Dot has taken a huge step forward with a smart braille device that not only allows for easy display of text, but tactile representations of imagery, potentially opening an entirely new layer for education and accessible content.
How many pins does the Dot Pad have?
The Dot Pad consists of 2,400 pins in a pixel-like grid that can quickly be set to be in up or down positions, forming letters in braille or easily identifiable shapes. That’s room for 300 braille glyphs, plus 20 more in a more traditionally spaced line below. The device also integrates directly into Apple’s VoiceOver screen reading feature, making reading text, icon labels and even graphs or simple images just a tap away.
What separates this device over other braille devices?
The core innovation of the Dot Pad is How to make dozens or hundreds of these little pins (6 per braille letter) extend and retract reliably and quickly (and not too loudly) producing a variety of solutions.
They got the idea from the mechanism of speakers, The tiny electromagnetic actuator vibrates in smartphone speakers but the team adapted it to move a pin up and down instead, using a magnetic ball rotor that locks easily in the up or down position and can unlock and disappear quickly. The whole thing is a fraction of the size of previous mechanisms — 10 times smaller compared to existing piezoelectric braille actuators.
This means the company was able to create a grid of thousands of pins with very little space between them, big enough to be read as letters but also dense enough to form patterns representing images. The bottom of the Dot Pad has a dedicated section for traditionally spaced braille but the main grid is better described as a “tactile display” than anything else.
Are there other advantages to the Dot Pad?
The other big advantage Dot has is its collaboration with Apple. The Dot Pad can be invoked with a gesture, instantly showing whatever the highlighted item is on the display.
Text can be represented, either as a full page of braille letters (arranged in spaced rows like normal) or as the shapes of the letters themselves. This allows the user to better appreciate things like typefaces in logos — there are no serifs in braille, naturally. Actually, it sounds quite interesting to experience large-scale type in that tactile way.
Is there a launch date for this device?
Dot will be making their core tech available for an upcoming Dynamic Tactile Device project led by the American Printing House for the Blind and HumanWare, slated to be launched in 2023; the developer community will have a chance to weigh in based on their experience with the API.
Are there any more future features expected for the Dot Pad?
Future feature plans include tactile representations of photos — not necessarily the images, but the layout, the positions and descriptions of people, and other aspects could be put on the display. They’re also working on a way to lock the pins at middle heights, for gradations in feel and other uses. And potentially the pad could be used as input as well as display — being able to press down on the pins to send a touch signal to the appropriate part of the screen would be yet another useful feature.
