Smartphone for the blind
Indian engineer Sumit
Dagar is creating the
world's first
smartphone for the
blind.
Sumit Dagar is
developing the
world's first
smartphone for
visually impaired
people
The phone's screen
contains pins which
move to form Braille
characters when an
SMS or email is
received
It uses Shape
Memory Alloy
technology which
ensures pins
contract back to
their original position
The phone will retail
for about $185, and
the team hopes to
release it by the end
of 2013
For all of their
advantages,
smartphones still fall a
little short for some —
specifically, for those
living with visual
impairment.
While apps like Siri and
SayText do offer a
good deal of assistance,
Fellow Sumit
Dagar had an idea for a
more effective solution:
a smartphone that's
specifically designed for
people who have
trouble seeing.
Read: The world's
tiniest fisheye camera
The phone, which has
yet to be officially
named, has a screen
comprised of a grid of
pins, which move up
and down to form into
Braille shapes and
characters whenever an
SMS message or email
is received. It uses
what's called Shape
Memory Alloy
technology, so as each
pin expands, it
remembers and
contracts back to its
original flat shape.
In an interview with the
Times of India, Dagar
describes the phone as
"[the] world's first
Braille smartphone ... a
companion more than a
phone."
Dagar, an interaction
design graduate of the
National Institute of
Design
(NID), came up with the
idea for the phone three
years ago. He's
collaborating with IIT
Delhi came up with the
idea for the phone three
years ago. He's
collaborating with IIT
Delhi on the prototype,
which is being tested at
the LV Prasad Eye
Institute. The team
hopes to release the
phone by the end of
2013, for a about $185
Dagar is creating the
world's first
smartphone for the
blind.
Sumit Dagar is
developing the
world's first
smartphone for
visually impaired
people
The phone's screen
contains pins which
move to form Braille
characters when an
SMS or email is
received
It uses Shape
Memory Alloy
technology which
ensures pins
contract back to
their original position
The phone will retail
for about $185, and
the team hopes to
release it by the end
of 2013
For all of their
advantages,
smartphones still fall a
little short for some —
specifically, for those
living with visual
impairment.
While apps like Siri and
SayText do offer a
good deal of assistance,
Fellow Sumit
Dagar had an idea for a
more effective solution:
a smartphone that's
specifically designed for
people who have
trouble seeing.
Read: The world's
tiniest fisheye camera
The phone, which has
yet to be officially
named, has a screen
comprised of a grid of
pins, which move up
and down to form into
Braille shapes and
characters whenever an
SMS message or email
is received. It uses
what's called Shape
Memory Alloy
technology, so as each
pin expands, it
remembers and
contracts back to its
original flat shape.
In an interview with the
Times of India, Dagar
describes the phone as
"[the] world's first
Braille smartphone ... a
companion more than a
phone."
Dagar, an interaction
design graduate of the
National Institute of
Design
(NID), came up with the
idea for the phone three
years ago. He's
collaborating with IIT
Delhi came up with the
idea for the phone three
years ago. He's
collaborating with IIT
Delhi on the prototype,
which is being tested at
the LV Prasad Eye
Institute. The team
hopes to release the
phone by the end of
2013, for a about $185
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