Opportunity for visually impaired people to use computers

New technology that can display Braille on computer screens has opened up the opportunity to use computers for visually impaired people in the 21st century.

Illustration.

Scientists at North Carolina State University have developed computerized online display technology for letters, numbers and images of Braille systems for the visually impaired.

The key to this braille display is the hydraulic opening and closing mechanism.

The Braille display has a special structure thanks to thousands of small points that can emerge to form alphabetic characters and numbers for the visually impaired.

Each point is a tiny box made of specially modified materials and filled with a solution. When the computer is charged, the edges of these boxes bend and push the solution upwards to create bumps corresponding to surface Braille, which can help visually impaired people read.

The invention was unveiled at the International Conference on Electronic Activated Polimer Devices and Starters in San Diego, USA in early March.