Many of us probably take our sight for granted. We can read books, watch movies, surf the web, all without having to give a second thought. Those who are blind don’t have such luxury and have to rely on braille, meaning that unless there is a braille version of the book that they want, they might have to turn to other means which might not be as convenient.
It also means that the visually impaired do not enjoy the same tech luxuries we do, like e-readers. However that could be changing in the future, thanks to researchers at the University of Michigan who have developed a prototype e-reader device that sports a display that can deliver pages in braille and be refreshed with every page turn.
This basically means that the screen and braille will change whenever there is new content on it. The researchers envision a system that will use either air or fluid to help push up tiny pins under its surface to form braille letters. This isn’t the first time we have heard of such technology. Several years ago a prototype smartphone was created that shared the same concept.
However right now researchers need to figure out how to fit the technology into a device that is affordable. While it was developed with e-readers in mind, the researchers are also hoping that eventually its technology could find other uses, such as for creating graphs or spreadsheets.