3D-Printed Models for Optimizing Tactile Braille & Shape Display

Existing market-available refreshable Braille displays (RBDs) offer limited functionality at a high cost, hindering accessibility for individuals with blindness and visual impairment for teaching and learning purposes. This motivates us to develop a multi-functional, compact, and affordable RBD tailored for educational institutes to enhance teaching and learning experiences. We propose the development of BLISS (Braille Letters and Interactive Shape Screen), a novel RBD, that BLISS presents a unique configuration arrangement of Braille cells that accommodates up to six letters at a time and shapes by reusing the Braille pins. To determine the optimal specifications, including size, Braille cell spacing, and pin configuration, we fabricated and evaluated 3D-printed sets, mimicking how BLISS would display letters and shapes. We tested 36 variants of 3D-printed sets with 8 individuals with blindness and visual impairment and found that conventional Braille spacing is insufficient for accurately representing shapes. Hence, BLISS will introduce a novel design that uses a pin configuration to raise the extra pins to present shapes and lower them for Braille letters, providing dual-mode operation. Our findings show the potential of BLISS to display both Braille letters and shapes on the same refreshable display, offering a novel, compact, and cost-effective solution.