Temple University senior Scott Stoffel, who is legally blind and deaf, created a system for people who have trouble deciphering the tiny dots of Braille with their fingers. Six large pins are raised and lowered to represent the combination of dots that create individual Braille letters. The software he created also displays Braille in a large format on a computer screen.
Users can change the colors of the dots and the background.
He was studying engineering because he wanted to learn how to develop a small electronic communication device to help blind and deaf people who have trouble deciphering the tiny raised dots of Braille with their fingers. People like him. He said he believed that his instrument could be produced at a fraction of the cost of larger electronic Braille devices. Although Stoffel has plans for a wireless version that could work with personal digital assistants such as Palms, his instrument now connects to the parallel port of a PC or laptop using a standard cable. A prototype is being completed.