Braille Smartwatches
It’s about time that technology moved in the direction of helping blind people see, and it seems we are almost one step closer with the announcement by a south Korean tech company that they have developed the world’s first Braille smartwatch!
So what’s the scoop? Well until now, blind people who received a message from a friend or family member would have to listen to it via Siri, in contrast this new technology aims to allow you to read it for yourself via Braille making it that much more personal.
According to the World Health Organization, there are 285 million people worldwide with severe visual impairments. 39 million of them are classed as legally blind.
If this becomes a reality, this product will be the first smartwatch option for the blind and aims to be affordable. The device will work by using Braille with four depressed dots that continually refresh and reveal new Braille text characters as they rise and fall. The character refreshing speed can be increased or decreased depending on how well you or how fast you read. Haptic technology will allow the smartwatch to provide information in real time, using touch alone. The battery will also provide amble reading time and is projected to last up to 10 hours.
Dot, the start up company that aims to manufacture the watches, will bring 10 000 to market by the end of the year.
Date Published: 11 August 2015
