By David Ponce
It’s not easy being blind. Especially when you’re trying to, say, send a letter. Typical Braille typewriters are pretty expensive, though of course, there’ also computers. But both of these are a lot more expensive than the $10 prototype handheld Braille writer device developed by a team of undergraduate students from Johns Hopkins University. As you can see from the picture, the device consists of a handheld puncher and a plastic guide. The writer depresses the appropriate combination of buttons and the related pins extend to create an indentation on the paper when pressed against it. Because the buttons are close together, one finger can depress more than one, thus making it unnecessary for you to have six-fingered hands.
The students estimate that if it were to be mass produced, the unit could easily retail for as little as $10.
