The vast proportion of employment, education and daily living activities require access to electronic information. Technology can, in a myriad of instances, assist individuals who are blind or visually impaired to become active participants in their societies. There are also devices that are able to convert ordinary print or the symbols on a computer screen into an exact tactile replica. There are also read-write systems, mostly doubling as word processors and computer terminals. Braille text is entered and manipulated by means of a simple six-dot keyboard and a few additional keys or switches.
Text is displayed on a small tactile screen.
To produce hard copy, the device is interfaced with ordinary standard printers or with braille printers. For persons with partial sight there is an ever increasing range of useful magnifying lenses. By means of closed circuit television devices, print may be enlarged and brought into focus and small objects observed closely. The progress of technology has meant that blind and visually impaired persons can have access to practically everything through spoken messages, natural or synthetic, through tactile markings and readings, through enlarged or enlargeable characters, through optical character recognition systems etc. We must keep in mind that low technology also has an important role to play as it still contains the solution to many problems.