Vibrating Glove Teaches Braille

I am a firm believer that the very day in which we stop learning, that is more often than not the day that we die. Learning Braille is definitely not easy at all, especially for someone who has not yet lost his or her sight, and for those who have lost their eyesight and want to pick up Braille, it can be quite challenging, too. There are concepts in the past that might help ease the passage of learning, but none of those seem to be able to hold a candle to this vibrating glove that will be able to let one pick up Braille thanks to the wonders of passive haptic learning.

Researchers over at the Georgia Institute of Technology have managed to come up with a glove that will allow users to learn how to read and write Braille, even when they are focusing on unrelated activities. How does it work? This wearable computer will rely on miniature vibrating motors that have been sewn into the knuckles, and it was discovered that motor skills in participants were being developed without requiring them to focus on the movement of their hands.

It is said that only 10% of the 40 million blind persons worldwide learn Braille, with the main barrier being schools neglecting this aspect of learning. Thad Starner, College of Computing Professor at Georgia Tech and technical lead/manager on Google’s Project Glass, said, “The process is based on passive haptic learning (PHL). We’ve learned that people can acquire motor skills through vibrations without devoting active attention to their hands.”

Edwin Kee
Categories: Gadgets
Tags: haptic