SBIR Phase I: Novel Mechanism for Refreshable Braille Device with Embedded Curriculum

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will contribute to the field of refreshable braille technology (RBT) and precision manufacturing. The project addresses the high cost of existing RBT, which limits braille literacy among blind and low-vision individuals, impeding participation in education, employment, and leisure opportunities. The innovation will enhance scientific and technological understanding by addressing durability, portability, and cost concerns in current RBT. Validating the novel braille system is key to de-risk the technology to enable commercial success. Seven million Americans have blindness or severe vision loss, including the target market of blind adults. With the digital braille displays market projected to grow at a 20.5% CAGR value from 2022-2027, there is considerable market opportunity. The commercialization plan involves selling the device to users, agencies, schools and government organizations, as well as selling individual braille cells. The technology provides a competitive advantage by being low cost and having user-replaceable braille cells. By year three of the device launch, 5,000 individuals are expected to be utilizing the device where the product will enhance braille literacy and digital productivity. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the challenge of creating a cost-effective, reliable, and user-repairable refreshable braille device. Currently, refreshable braille devices are cost-prohibitive to acquire and challenging to repair, leaving users without dynamic interaction with the digital world. The project will implement a precision milled mechanically based system for actuating braille pins utilizing pins at braille code specification. Research objectives include refining of the pin mechanism, adjusting the tolerances and geometry of the scaled-down mechanical system, implementing appropriately sized motors, conducting preliminary cycle testing, and integrating the cells into a 20-cell device. The primary challenges associated with this development will be prototyping within the tight tolerances without binds or jams at an affordable price point that meaningfully reduces barriers to entry to owning a refreshable braille device. Anticipated technical results are a cell of braille operable at braille code specifications, refreshing in less than 500 ms, durable at 500,000 cycles, sized within a braille-code sized bounding box for single-cell modularity, and manufacturable at a cost of less than $20 per cell. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.