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<keyword id="10387" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword> had invited a 13-year-old Indian-origin boy, <keyword id="2583888" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Shubham-Banerjee">Shubham Banerjee</keyword>, to showcase his low-cost portable <keyword id="2069351" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="braille-printer">Braille printer</keyword>.<br />
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Now, Banerjee is working with the technology giant to integrate the printer-Braigo 2.0-with Windows to make it easily accessible to the visually-impaired. The company plans to launch the printer commercially in November.<br />
<br /> The eighth-grade student in Santa Clara, California showcased his <keyword id="2853160" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="braigo">Braigo</keyword> 2.0 at a tech fair organised by the company here.<br />
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"Our relationship with Microsoft will help Braigo achieve a seamless experience for a visually-impaired person who wants to use a computer at home or at the office to print documents for offline reading," Banerjee said in Microsoft blog post.<br />
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He told news agency PTI that it was an amazing experience while participating in the fair and working with Microsoft. “I am looking at ways to integrate the Windows technology with the printer as I prepare to launch it commercially by November this year," he told PTI.<br />
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Banerjee is targeting a price point of 500 dollars or less for the printer to ensure its affordability in organisations working for the visually-impaired in developing and least developed nations.<br />
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"Also, think about the banks, the government institutions or even the libraries where Windows-based computers are widely used. They will all benefit from having a Braigo to provide accessibility services to their visually-impaired customers," Banerjee told the news agency.<br />
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The young student is being flooded with reviews and valuable support from experts for Braigo that he had developed using Lego Mindstorms EV3, a robotics kit.<br />
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The idea of developing such a printer came to him when he was working on a science fair project last year. He worked on the printer for almost one month and also did not lose focus from studies.<br />
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He said he was shocked to learn that braille printers cost over 2,000 dollars.<br />
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His father has supported him all this while. The printer uses new technology and an Intel Edison chip.<br />
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(Image: Reuters)<br />

This 13 yr old Indian-origin boy is helping Microsoft in a unique way

<p>Braille is the tactile writing system that enables the blind to read. Printers and embossers for Braille writing are generally pretty costly, costing from a few thousand bucks to <a href="http://www.viewplus.com/products/braille-printers/elite-braille-printers/">as much as $20,000</a>.</p>
<p>Shubham Banerjee is a seventh-grader who turned his $350 Lego Mindstorms set into a fully-functioning (albeit much slower) Braille printer, we learn <a href="http://gigaom.com/2014/02/17/seventh-grader-builds-a-braille-printer-with-350-worth-of-legos/">via GigaOm</a>. The device punches Braille characters into standard receipt paper with a pushpin, creating messages that can be read by anyone who's been trained to do so.</p>
<p><span>The printer (Banerjee calls it "Braigo") is only in its most basic form at the moment. Looking forward, he aims to make it an open-source project that will ultimately get affordable Braille printing technology to anyone who wants it.</span></p>
<p><span>Check out the video below to see Braigo in action.</span></p>
<p></p>

Braille Printers Cost Thousands Of Dollars - This Kid Built One Out Of Lego For $350

It took <keyword id="57604" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="iit-delhi">IIT Delhi</keyword> 8 long years to come out with the perfect walking stick for <keyword id="23953" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="blind">blind</keyword> - 'Smart Cane' - that could help them in navigating their way amid obstacles, and when they finally did last year, one of India's biggest e-commerce company Snapdeal decided to sell it on their portal. Several blind people now make use of it in their daily lives!<br />
 <br /> On my recent visit to IIT's Open House event this year, I came across something that made me feel we would soon see yet another great success story after Smart Cane by the masterminds at this premier institute. Just like Smart Cane, they have been working on what's called '<keyword id="3338878" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tactile-Graphics">Tactile Graphics</keyword>' - books with images that consist of raised lines and textures so that people with visual impairment can perceive images by using the sense of touch. <br />
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The innovation can help persons with visual impairment read diagrams and figures in subjects like maths, science, economic, geography etc very easily. <br />
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There are two challenges, however, before students can make a breakthrough in this regard. One is to come out with a cheap technology for printing these graphics at low cost. Secondly, the cheap technology should be able to create accurate and good quality tactile for students.<br />
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The existing technology used abroad involves using swell paper and the printing process costs around Rs. 200 per sheet. Microcapsules of alchohol are embedded in the sheet and when heated these capsules explode, creating a raised surface on the paper that makes the graphics readable for the visually challenged. While this technology produces high-quality graphics, it is expensive and isn't ideal if the graphics need more height variation.<br />
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Tactile Graphics, on the other hand, uses a process called embossing and thermoforming to cut printing costs to around Rs. 20 per sheet. The process involves using a 3D printer to print the mould, which is then pasted on a printout of the graphics. A plastic sheet is placed on it and it's put inside a forming machine, which heats the sheet and the result is a low-cost print of Tactile Graphics.<br />
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However, the one problem that needs to be addressed is accuracy. Accuracy is very important in areas like geography, especially in the subject of maps, where it is critical. Manual processes of making molds is highly inadequate in such cases. Even in simple geometric shapes, smoothness gets compromised without high accuracy.<br />
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Till last year, their technology wasn't producing as high-quality sheets as those printed using swell paper, but it was found to be better for dots of variable heights and was a lot cheaper. Rs. 20 per sheet was a price that could keep books affordable even if the quality was not as good as the sheets printed using swell paper. As for accuracy, IITians are not far away from getting desired results. They are now making molds using software and 3D printing which provides the key components for meeting the accuracy needs of molds.<br />
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Why I felt this could do wonders like Smart Cane is because of two reasons. One, it's a wonderful concept that can make a significant change in the lives of the visually challenged on a mass level, and secondly the students and professors have been relentlessly working on making a cheap version just like Smart Cane. And let's just say when there's a will, there's always a way!

They are helping blind walk safely, and this new innovation by IITians will now help them read effortlessly!

<p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Shubham Banerjee, the 13-year old CEO of the Braille printer maker Braigo Labs, had no idea what Braille was until last year. </span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">It was only when he came across a fundraising flyer for the visually impaired that he started to wonder how blind people read. So, like any other 7th grader would do, he asked his parents. His father's response: "Go Google it."</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">As he searched the web, Banerjee discovered the high cost of Braille printers, which usually cost upwards of $2,000. He also learned more about Braille, the tactile writing system used by the visually impaired.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"When I found out the cost of a Braille printer, I was shocked," Banerjee told Business Insider. "I just wanted to help the visually impaired. I had a Lego Robotics kit, so I asked, 'Why not just try that?'"</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Built out of <a href="http://www.walmart.com/ip/25582157?wmlspartner=wlpa&amp;adid=22222222227018897401&amp;wl0=&amp;wl1=g&amp;wl2=c&amp;wl3=40344633272&amp;wl4=&amp;wl5=pla&amp;wl6=78309189992&amp;veh=sem&amp;www=true&amp;productRedirect=true">Lego's Mindstorms EV3</a> blocks and little pieces from Home Depot (Braigo stands for Braille and Lego), Braigo Lab's printer turned out to function quite well. It earned Banerjee a lot of recognition too, including <a href="http://www.braigolabs.com/the-tech-awards-2014/">The Tech Awards 2014</a> and an invitation to the <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/maker-faire">White House Maker Faire</a>, an event that awards student entrepreneurs and innovators.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">But most importantly, Banerjee believes it could solve a decades-long problem that's been holding back so many visually impaired people around the world: the high cost of Braille printers.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Banerjee says his printer could significantly cut down the price of Braille printers to less than $500. According to his website, there are 285 million visually impaired people worldwide, and 90% of them live in developing countries. It's not easy to drop a couple grand on a printer, even by a developed country's standards.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"I want to tell (big company manufacturers) to stop taking advantage of blind people," he says.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Impressed by his product and vision, Intel came calling last September and told him it would invest in his company. And last week, the investment was made official <a href="http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/blog/2014/11/04/16-new-investments-announced-at-intel-capital-global-summit">at the Intel Capital Global Summit,</a> when Braigo Labs was mentioned as one of the 16 tech startups Intel's investing in this year. Although the exact amount of the investment was not disclosed, it's reported to be <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/04/us-tech-kidentrepreneur-idUSKBN0IO1TA20141104">a few hundred thousand dollars.</a> That makes Banerjee the youngest tech entrepreneur ever funded by a VC firm.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"I didn't think such a big company would ever invest in my company. That was pretty amazing," Banerjee says.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">With Intel's funding, Braigo Labs plans to build a new prototype that more resembles a regular printer, and bring it to market by next year. Banerjee says he has no plans to expand into other product categories at this point, but Braille printers seem to be just a part of a bigger dream he has in mind. </span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"I want to do engineering in the medical area when I grow up," he says. "And I want to finish college."</span></p>
<h3 class="p2">This is the Lego Mindstorm EV3 kit he used to build it. <div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></h3>
<h3>These are some of the pieces he used. He also bought some small pieces from Home Depot to build it.</h3>
<p class="p2"><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div> </p>
<h3>This is the part that holds the main processor, or the "brain," of the product. It comes with the Lego Mindstorm.</h3>
<p class="p2"> <div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></p>
<h3>This is what the first prototype looks like.</h3>
<p class="p2"> <div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></p>
<h3>Here's a better angle.</h3>
<p class="p2"> <div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></p>
<h3>This is the second prototype, which more resembles a regular printer. The printer that goes into mass production will look more like this one.</h3>
<h3 class="p2"><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div> </h3>
<h3>He also presented at the Intel Capital Summit 2014 last week, with Intel Capital's president Arvind Sodhani and Bloomberg's Cory Johnson.  <div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></h3>
<h3>You can see the full video below:</h3>
<p></p>

You Searched For "braille printer" and got 4 results

This 13 yr old Indian-origin boy is helping Microsoft in a unique way

BI India Bureau

Braille Printers Cost Thousands Of Dollars - This Kid Built One Out Of Lego For $350

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They are helping blind walk safely, and this new innovation by IITians will now help them read effortlessly!

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This 13 Year Old Is So Impressive, Intel Is Investing Hundreds Of Thousands In His Startup

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