Inventor Louis Braille Biography Inventor: Louis Braille Criteria: First practical. Modern day prototype. Birth: January 4, 1809 in Coupvray, France Death: January 6, 1852 in Paris, France Nationality: French Invention: Braille in 1824 Function: noun / named for its inventor Louis Braille Definition: Braille is a tactile writing system used by blind people. Braille generally consists of cells of 6 raised dots conventionally numbered and the presence or absence of dots gives the coding for the symbol. Milestones: 1809 Louis Braille is born in Coupvray, near Paris France on January 4th 1812 Louis becomes blind, the result of an accident while playing in his fathers shop. 1819 Louis sent to Paris to live and study at the National Institute for Blind Children.

1824 Louis developed a system, employing a 6-dot cell and based upon normal spelling 1827 Louis published the first book printed using braille to describe and teach his system 1828 Louis becomes a full time teacher at the school where he was once a student 1840 Louis and his friend Pierre Foucault developed a machine to speed up the printing process 1852 When Louis died at age 43, not one newspaper in all of Paris wrote of his death. 1868 Braille, his 6-dot method is accepted as a world wide standard 1952 On the 100th anniversary of his death, the French government honors Braille's accomplishment CAPS: Braille, Louis Braille, Valentin Hauy, Charles Barbier, Night Writing, William Bell Wait, Simon-Renï¿½ Braille, Pierre Foucault, Dr. Thomas Armitage, Royal Institute for Blind Youth, ARYs: braille, writing, communications, SIPS, history, biography, inventor, inventor of, history of, who invented, invention of, fascinating facts.

STORY: Less than 200 years ago, it was said that the blind would never be able to read. People thought that it was only eyesight that could help humans see and read words. A young French boy Louis Braille, who was blind, was determined to find the key to access new methods for himself and all other blind persons of the world. Louis Braille was born on 4th January, 1809, at Coupvray, near Paris, France..His father, Simon-Renï¿½ Braille, was a harness and saddle maker. At the age of three, Braille injured his left eye with a stitching awl from his father's workshop. This destroyed his left eye, and sympathetic ophthalmia led to loss of vision in his right eye. Braille was completely blind by the age of four. Despite his disability, Braille continued to attend school, with the support of his parents, until he was required to read and write. Louis Braille was unhappy in school, because his blindness prevented him from reading books. At age 10, he was sent to Paris to live and study at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth, the world's first of its kind.

At the school, the children were taught basic craftsman's skills and simple trades. They were also taught how to read by feeling raised letters (a system devised by the school's founder, Valentin Haï¿½y). He thought there had to be a better, easier, and faster way for the blind to read. He was determined to invent it. From age 12 to 15, he experimented with codes, using a knitting needle to punch holes in paper to represent letters. He shared his progress with officials at the institute but wasn't taken seriously. Braille, a bright and creative student, became a talented cellist and organist in his time at the school, playing the organ for churches all over France. When Louis was fifteen, he developed an ingenious system of reading and writing by means of raised dots. Two years later he adapted his method to musical notation. He used a pattern of 6 raised dots to represent letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and mathematical symbols. Louis showed his Braille method to his classmates who liked it and began using it, in spite of the fact that it was banned from the institute. At age 17, Louis graduated, became assistant teacher at the institute, and secretly taught his method. Mr.

Braille accepted a full-time teaching position at the Institute when he was nineteen. Braille later extended his system to include notation for mathematics and music. The first book in Braille was published in 1827 under the title Method of Writing Words, Music, and Plain Songs by Means of Dots, for Use by the Blind and Arranged for Them. .After some slight modification it reached its present form in 1834, and is the system which has since borne his name. In 1839 Braille published details of a method he had developed for communication with sighted people, using patterns of dots to approximate the shape of printed symbols. Braille and his friend Pierre Foucault went on to develop a machine to speed up the somewhat cumbersome system. He had always been plagued by ill health, and he died in Paris of tuberculosis in 1852 at the age of 43; Not one newspaper in all of Paris wrote of his death. Although he was admired and respected by his pupils, his Braille system was never taught at the Institute during his lifetime. Six months later, the institute officially adopted his 6-dot method.

By 1868,his raised 6-dot system became a world wide standard, helping the blind read books, clocks, wristwatches, thermometers, sheet music and even elevator buttons. In 1952, on the 100th anniversary of his death, newspapers everywhere printed his story. His portrait appeared on postage stamps, and his home is now a museum. In his honor, the French government moved his remains to the Pantheon in Paris. There Louis Braille was laid to rest with other great French heroes. He was a kind, compassionate teacher and an accomplished musician. He gave his life in selfless service to his pupils, to his friends, and to the perfection of his raised dot method. Today, Braille has been adapted to almost every major national language and is the primary system of written communication for visually impaired persons around the world. The name of Braille will always remain associated with one of the greatest and most beneficent devices ever invented.

TO LEARN MORE Braille, the Magic Wand of the Blind, by Helen Keller (n.d.; document source not identified) - American Foundation for the Blind Braille, the Magic Wand of the Blind Braille, the Magic Wand of the Blind, by Helen Keller (n.d.; document source not identified) Transcription "Braille, the Magic Wand of the Blind" If we should look for the greatest benefactor of the sightless — the individual who has given them a perpetual source of delight and profit, the choice would certainly fall upon Louise (sic) Braille. Not a century ago this humble blind Frenchman, a pupil of the Institution Nationale des Jeunes Aveugles in Paris, waved a magic wand which opened a new way for the sightless to knowledge and mental delight. Today on the anniversary of his discovery, we who are without sight celebrate gratefully the achievement of one who poured the sweetness of tangible printed words into the bitter waters of our affliction. Such a significant event should not pass unnoticed; the longest forward stride in the progress of the blind is the invention of Louise (sic) Braille. Without the word, visible or tangible, there can be no education.

When one thinks of the sufferings of the sightless in all countries before they could read, one does not wonder that it is said in the Bible, "In the beginning the Word was with God, .... and the Word was the Light of men." It was obvious from the beginning that if the blind were to be educated a method must be devised by which they would read and study like the seeing. Louis Braille invented the embossed system which has ever since borne his name and which enables the blind to read and write easily with their fingers. His magic wand was a group of six dots in which the vertical line consists of three dots, and the horizontal of two. The combination of these dots in all kinds of positions produces characters to each of which we assign a particular meaning, just as the seeing do to the characters of ink print. For instance, the two dots at the top of the oblong represent C, the upper and lower dots on the left side stand for K, and the addition of the other upper dot to K changes it to M, (sic) It is amazing how six dots can be so combined to represent so many things — letters, marks of punctuation, signs, numerals, a musical notation and accents in foreign languages.

Braille's invention was as marvellous (sic) as any fairy tale. Only six dots! Yet when he touched a blank sheet of paper, lo! it became alive with words that sparkled in the darkness of the blind! Only six dots! Yet he made them vibrate with harmonies that charmed away their lonely hours! Only six dots! Yet the magic of his genius gave them the power of mighty vehicles of thought! With them he captured words that sing and dance with the joy of life — words that sigh and moan — words burning with holy fire, words that weave bonds of companionship between those who cannot see and those who can, words that bring to us the dawn, the rainbow and the splendor of sunset skies, words that, like swift ships, bear us far away from the monotony of blindness, the trivial incidents of time and place and the pain of thwarted effort! So long as the memory of brave men is cherished in the world, there shall be warm gratitude to Louis Braille who, himself blind, was a light to stumbling feet along the paths of knowledge and intelligence.

1829-1929 — what a strange story, what a long, slow journey for the blind from the first clumsy attempts at reading a type resembling that of ink print to the Braille books now within their reach! How many men and women today are trying to increase this supply of Braille literature on all subjects where a century ago one blind man stood up and pleaded with well intentioned but blundering teachers to abandon the difficult Roman Line type and adopt the more readable Braille system! Today thousands of sightless people learn Braille where a hundred years ago it had to be taught to a few almost surreptitiously and out of school hours. In order to understand more fully the importance of Braille's work, it may be well to go back to the beginning and give a brief history of embossed types for the blind. It is a history of incredible obstacles, tireless experimenting and queer misconceptions of blindness and the problems arising from it. The seeing person who knows anything about the blind knows that they employ a tactile system of reading and writing. It is not, as many imagine, a system of signs or shorthand and it is a print in which the letters, punctuation marks and abbreviations are composed of dots combined in different positions.

It is called Braille. Braille is almost universally used by the reading blind, but when the education system of the blind began in 1784, the first method of printing books for them was a system of characters resembling the Latin alphabet — the Roman Line Letter Type. Valentin Haüy, the first educator of the blind, discovered this method accidentally, while watching the process of the ordinary press. He observed that sheets fresh from the press and printed only on one side showed the letters in rather sharp relief, and he at once set about enlarging the characters for the fingers, and having them printed the reverse of the usual type, so that they would read from left to right on the sheet. He reasoned that, since the characters could be felt, the only thing needed was to enlarge them so that the blind could distinguish them by touch. Accordingly, in his first experiment, he simply had the types reversed and made larger, with the result that the letters read from left to right on the sheet. He did not ask what kind of characters could be most easily read with the fingers, and this was his initial mistake.

He laid down the fundamental principle that we must establish all possible contacts between the blind and the seeing, and he pushed his idea to the extent of insisting that the letters of their alphabets should be similar in appearance, forgetting that it is not really the eye nor the finger that reads, but the brain. Language, in its orthographic form as we are accustomed to use it in writing and printing, is addressed to sight, but it can also be addressed to the touch through points, and any one can learn to read it as easily as he can read the printed page. There is no difference between the way the blind and the seeing read except that the blind use one nerve-channel while the seeing use another. One of the fallacies among people who see about those who cannot see is that as soon as the sense of sight is lost, an exquisite touch is developed. Every human being has a natural sense of touch; but the great majority do not train it to any considerable extent. Only a fortunate few possess a sensitive touch to start with when they are blinded, and strange to say, a man whose hand is hardened by manual labor is as likely to have this advantage as another whose fingers are more delicate.

Many seeing people have learned Braille so as to be able to write their blind friends letters they could read themselves. A letter always seems more to belong to me if I can read it than it does when someone reads it to me. As for the benefit which the seeing derive from it, Sir Arthur Pearson, who could see until late in life, and who founded St. Dunstan's Hostel for Blinded Soldiers and Sailors in London, said, "Learning to read by a new method undoubtedly helps a man to do many other things in unaccustomed ways. I would go so far as to say that it would well repay a man to learn Braille even if he were never to read a line of a Braille book, of so much value is the exercise and stimulus it gives to the mental faculties." Hauy's method was spread rapidly from Paris to Great Britain, Germany, Austria and America. It was hailed as a path to deliverance for the blind; but the rejoicing gave way to disappointment when it was discovered that from one-third to one-half of the blind in the schools could not decipher Haüy's Line Letter. The chief defect of his method was that he used curved forms, which the blind reader finds extremely difficult.

Size was his first consideration, not shape. He did not know that the more elaborate a raised letter is, the less easy it is for the blind to recognize, or that the finger detects sharp angles much more quickly than curves, or that points like the period are perceived very clearly. Countless modifications of Haüy's Line Letter were attempted in France, England and other countries with the object of discovering a more legible type; but none of them was successful, as is shown by the rapidity with which they were tested and thrown aside. Only one linear type has survived to this day — the angular Moon Type, invented by an Englishman, William Moon. This is a very large and distinct print adapted to the fingers of the adult blind, who need something to practice their touch on before they learn Braille. So obvious was the failure of these early systems that in 1832 the Scottish Art Society offered a gold medal for the most practical method of embossing for the sightless. Fifteen typographic systems made their appearance, in which angular forms predominated, and there was one which somewhat resembled the dot system of our day.

In spite of the fact that points are distinguished more readily than lines, the jury of awards decided upon the Alston form of line type. It requires a philosophic spirit to understand this apparently foolish disregard of the most workable way to overcome the handicap of blindness. The jury had a sincere desire to keep the blind and the seeing as close together as might be in their reading and writing and in all the activities of life. Besides, little was known about the sense of touch in those days. Educators and inventors were under the delusion that the loss of vision renders the other senses far keener and more alert. They supposed that what looked good to the eye would with modifications be equally acceptable to the fingers. Among the many who advanced theories concerning the blind, Diderot alone pointed out that while they may acquire the same amount of knowledge as the seeing, their processes of acquiring it would probably be quite different. He wrote his famous essay on the blind about the year 1749; but his wise words fell upon barren soil. Those who took an interest in the handicapped were governed by tradition and custom. Independent thought and action were not encouraged.

There was no philosophy of life which took into account the need of modifying principles so as to meet the requirements of peculiarly situated human beings. Pragmatism had not taken its place in the life of society. These facts enable us to realize in some measure what a formidable task it was to establish a system of arbitrarily formed point characters like Braille as a part of the blind man's life equipment. In 1819 Charles Barbier, a Frenchman with a rare combination of good eyes and good sense, invented a dot system which the genius of Louis Braille, a sightless man, brought to perfection. Braille was a student at the Institution Nationale des Jeunes Aveugles in Paris, and the dot system has borne his name ever since. The vast superiority of Braille to all line types in embossing and in facility of writing was at once perceived by the teachers and pupils; but for some reason the authorities of the Institution insisted upon the continued use of line types. For many years Braille remained comparatively obscure in the city of its origin, and it was still a harder fight for recognition in other countries, especially in Great Britain and America.

Almost unnoticed and nearly always through blind persons who learned it, the system came to be known and approved outside of Paris. It was not recognized as the standard type for the blind in England until 1869, and even then the institutions were slow in discarding the other systems. As Braille progressed little by little it encountered three rivals — mighty dragons breathing fire and smoke. The first was the Roman Line which Dr. Howe, Director of the Perkins Institution for the Blind in Boston, had improved for his young sightless pupils. His faith that "obstacles were things to overcome" inspired them with a determination to master even the Line Letter; and he turned out books so rapidly that soon he had the largest and finest embossed library in the world. Every school for the blind in the United States used them, and no others were to be had. The second rival of Braille was New York Point which made its appearance some time before 1868. The third was another modification called American Braille. Each system had its zealous adherents, and the controversy as to which should be generally used was long and fierce.

It did great harm because it interfered with the discussion of other important matters connected with the blind, and increased the cost of embossing books and music. The money appropriated by the Government to emboss books had to be used for all types. The same books, which were expensive enough printed once, had to be duplicated in the different types for different institutions. The long, fierce struggle between the advocates of Line Letter, New York Point and American Braille was a repetition on a small scale of the fight that goes on daily between realists and idealists, radicals and conservative, science and superstition. It was a pitiable spectacle in which friends of the blind became foes when they should have worked together toward a common end — a beautiful service to a most handicapped group of their fellowmen. But there was one influential friend of the sightless who put service before theory or controversy. It was the generosity of Mr. M.C. Migel, President of the American Foundation for the Blind, that made possible the investigation and tests of the various raised prints, and ensured the final victory for uniformity. He gave thousand (sic) dollars to finance the committee which studied the type question. This was a tremendous benefaction to the blind of America.

The only fitting expression of gratitude to him is to declare publicly the mental relief and happiness of the blind in at last having, like those who see, a unified, easy method of reading and writing, a method adequate to all the practical uses of life and work. Thus, at last the blind of both hemispheres were united in one method of embossed writing. It is now necessary to print books only in this type to make them available to all the blind. Truly, books are lamps in my own life and in the lives of countless other blind people. They are a haven of peace sweet to rest in after we have been tossed on the waves of discouragement. They deliver us from the dreary monotony of blindness! With words of light they transport us from our little corner in the dark to the colorful, throbbing, creative life of mankind. They roll up the curtain of night, as it were, and reveal to us the glory of dawn and starry skies, the sea and mighty forests.

As Madame Bertha Galeron, A (sic) French deaf blind poet, says, "To put a book on our knee is more than a benefit, it is almost a work of salvation." The importance of a common embossed print is still more evident when we remember that one of the first things an adult person who loses his sight must do is to learn how to read and write by touch. He has to learn how to do the old thing in a new way, and that is hard enough without confusing him with a Babel of types. Braille has been a most precious aid to me in many ways. It made my going to college possible — it was the only method by which I could take notes of lectures. All my examination papers were copied for me in this system. I use Braille as a spider uses its web — to catch thoughts that flit across my mind for speeches, messages and manuscripts. Without Braille I should not have had courage to jump into "Midstream," — my new book bringing up to date the story of my life which is to be published in this autumn. I wrote out in Braille a synopsis of what I wanted to say, then I copied the manuscript on the typewriter.

Oh, how often I blessed Louis Braille for his invention! Oh the appearance of my study in those days! — my table, desk, chairs, couch and floor covered with what Conrad describes as " the litter of a cruel battle-field (sic), — living pages, pages scored and wounded, dead pages" and pages that a vagrant breeze had spirited away into a corner! Without Braille I could not have held the thread of my discourse. O the miracle of Louis Braille's invention — the strange dotted characters which gave eyes to the blind, redeemed them from despair and knit their souls with the soul of mankind in sweet unison. They who once sat brooding through sad, interminable days of emptiness now look with rapt gaze upon the universe as they read with the eyes in their fingers. From the tomb of sealed sense they have risen to the morning light and the ecstasy of thought. They live fully, instead of only the half-life of darkness! Happy, they no longer remember their hours of solitude — they are not alone any more! Like friends their books speak to them with words of enchantment. O the joy of being able to think! O the precious power of self-expression!

O the comfort of forgetting sorrow in love's confidences! O the blessedness of treading the high places of the spirit unfettered! O the delicious taste of independence that comes with an embossed book, and a Braille tablet! Yes, the blind can now work, they can study, they can sing, they can add their share to the good and happiness in the world. And it was Louis Braille, a captive bearing a yokecruel (sic) as their own, who found the golden key to unlock their prison-door. Braille book - definition of Braille book by The Free Dictionary Braille book - definition of Braille book by The Free Dictionary or braille (brāl) n. A system of writing and printing for blind or visually impaired people, in which varied arrangements of raised dots representing letters and numerals are identified by touch. tr.v. Brailled, Braill·ing, Brailles also brailled or braill·ing or brailles To print or transliterate using this system. [After Louis Braille.] (breɪl) n 1.

(Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) a system of writing for the blind consisting of raised dots that can be interpreted by touch, each dot or group of dots representing a letter, numeral, or punctuation mark 2. (Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) any writing produced by this method. Compare Moon 1 vb (Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) (tr) to print or write using this method Braille (French braj) n (Biography) Louis (lwi). 1809–52, French inventor, musician, and teacher of the blind, who himself was blind from the age of three and who devised the Braille system of raised writing Braille n., v. Brailled, Braill•ing. n. 1. Louis, 1809–52, French teacher of the blind. 2. a system of writing, devised by L. Braille for use by the blind, in which combinations of raised dots represent letters, numbers, punctuation marks, etc., that are read by touch. v.t. 3. to write or transliterate in Braille. Also, braille (for defs. 2,3).

[1850–55] I will have been Brailling you will have been Brailling he/she/it will have been Brailling we will have been Brailling you will have been Brailling they will have been Brailling Past Perfect Continuous they would have Brailled Braille A system of writing or printing using raised dots on a page, allowing blind people to read by touch. Originally developed by Louis Braille, a blind French teacher (1809–52). ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend: Noun 1. Braille - French educator who lost his sight at the age of three and who invented a system of writing and printing for sightless people (1809-1852) 2. braille - a point system of writing in which patterns of raised dots represent letters and numerals point system - a system of writing or printing using patterns of raised dots that can be read by touch Verb transliterate , transcribe - rewrite in a different script; "The Sanskrit text had to be transliterated" Translations B.

CPD Braille library N → biblioteca f Braille Braille n → Blinden- or Brailleschrift f adj → Blindenschrift-; Braille library → Blindenbücherei f; Braille books → Bücher pl → in Blindenschrift Braille braille (breil) noun a system of printing for the blind, using raised dots.

brailleskrif طريقة برايل للقراءه система за писане/печатане за слепи с изпъкнал шрифт braille slepecké písmo die Blindenschrift blindskrift σύστημα γραφής μπράιγ (για όσους αντιμετωπίζουν προβλήματα όρασης) Braille pimedate kiri خط بریل pistekirjoitus braille כְּתַב בְרָיִיל उत्कीर्ण लेख, अंधों के लिए उभरी हुई लिपि Brailleovo pismo vakírás huruf braille blindraletur braille 点字 브라유 점자법 Brailio raštas Braila / neredzīgo raksts tulisan braille braille blindeskrift alfabet Braille`a د بریل

 کرښه braille Braille система шрифта для слепых slepecké písmo Braillova pisava Brajeva azbuka blindskrift ระบบการพิมพ์อักษรเบรลล์สำหรับคนตาบอด Breyl Alfabesi, körler alfabesi 點字 шрифт Брайля نابیناؤں کے لئے نقطوں والی بینائی chữ Bray (chữ nổi cho người mù) （盲人用）点字 Braille , reading system n.

Braille, sistema de lectura, método de escritura e impreso de puntos alzados que identifican letras, números y puntuación y permite a los ciegos leer por medio del tacto. Braille n braille m, sistema m de escritura para ciegos Louis Braille, the Blind Man Man Who Foresaw the Gift of Reading (and Writing) to the Blind – Celebrating Individual Abilities by dlberek Louis Braille, the Blind Man Man Who Foresaw the Gift of Reading (and Writing) to the Blind Monday, January 4, was the birthday of a remarkable Frenchman named Louis Braille. His name is familiar worldwide for the ingenious system of raised dots he invented, bringing the gift of reading and writing to millions of blind and visually impaired people. Though he devised his system to quench his thirst for knowledge and music, he was equally motivated to share his alphabet to help others like him. Louis Braille, therefore, is a man we admire deeply for his advocacy and self-advocacy. His ingenuity is an example of assistive technology par excellence.

Louis Braille (1809-1852) It all began 201 years ago, when a 5-year-old boy in Coupvray, France, was playing with his father’s leather-making tools. The awl, a leather punch tool slipped from his hand and impaled his eyes. His determination to recover from life-threatening infections was matched by that to make the most of his life. Louis Braille studied hard and showed the intelligence and diligence; with the support of his parents, he admitted to the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris, one of the first such institutions. At the Royal Institute, Louis would develop the system that, to this day, bears his name. There, a philanthropist created books with raised letters for the students to read. There was a problem with this early effort, however. That is, these books were very heavy to hold and extremely expensive to produce. In addition, a fine and dedicated student like Louis Braille found it most difficult to recall words by the time he reached the end of the sentence. That notwithstanding, Louis finished all 14 books in the library and hungered for more.

This engraving from “Essay on the Instruction of the Blind” (Essai sur l’Instruction des Aveugles], by Sebastien Guillie, shows a teacher assisting a blind student, helping him holds a stylus. Louis Braille was also thinking of his fellow students when he said, “Access to communication … is access to knowledge, and that is vitally important for us if we [the blind] are not to go on being despised or patronized by condescending sighted people.” He continued, “We do not need pity, nor do we need to be reminded we are vulnerable. We must be treated as equals – and communication is the way this can be brought about.” As luck would have it, Braille met a man by the name of Charles Barbier de la Serre, who had just created a system of writing for the French army he called “night writing,” enabling soldiers to communicate in the dark. (It is ironic that Braille was exempted from serving in the military because of his blindness.) Though Barbier’s system of raised dots was a major improvement of what existed, the military code proved too complex. Nevertheless, Braille was inspired to create his own system.

Back at home, it occurred to Braille that the very tool that blinded him could be used to create the raised dots for his alphabet! This was the gift he shared with the students at the Royal Institute. Here’s the genius of Braille’s system: Braille’s alphabet consists of a series cells containing, in a 2 x 3 grid, a raised dot or a blank space. Though there are only six dots or spaces, they can be combined in 64 different ways, allowing for other characters, including letter from other alphabets. After all, Braille was a gifted mathematician! (It is also worth noting that Louis Braille was an eager and a talented musician; he was able to adapt his system of writing to musical notation and write the original manual to help others.) So, Braille’s system of raised dots remains the foundation for many of today’s advanced-technology communication devices for the blind and visually impaired. What’s more, Braille designed an ingenious machine that would allow blind and sighted persons alike to create manuscripts – both reading and writing! Drawing on this development, a friend of Braille by the name of Foucault, invented a machine to emboss letters on paper, much in the manner of a typewriter.

Today, a great deal of assistive technology is being developed to further the access of the written word for blind people. Yet, all these high-tech devices owe their very foundation to the ingenious 2-by-3 grid of raised dots that started with Louis Braille. Helen Keller “Braille has been a most precious aid to me in many ways. It made my going to college possible–it was the only method by which I could take notes of lectures. All my examination papers were copied for me in this system. I use Braille as a spider uses its web – to catch thoughts that flit across my mind for speeches, messages and manuscripts.” T.S. Eliot “Perhaps the most enduring honor to the memory of Louis Braille is the half-conscious honor we pay him by applying his name to the script he invented – and, in this country [England], adapting the pronunciation of his name to our own language. We honor Braille when we speak of braille.

His memory has in this way a security greater than that of the memories of many men more famous in their day.” Breakthrough Smart Watch Converts Text and Email into Braille - Good News Network Breakthrough Smart Watch Converts Text and Email into Braille Breakthrough Smart Watch Converts Text and Email into Braille Jan 4, 2016 0 207 years ago today, the man who devised a system for reading and writing for the blind, was born. Now, Louis Braille’s system of dots has been given a hi-tech design upgrade by a company called Dot, Inc. The Dot Watch, which turns text messages into braille for the blind, is being celebrated as the first major innovation for visually impaired readers in nearly 15 years. After seeing a blind classmate lugging around a heavy braille bible, which contained only five percent of the contents of the holy book, Eric Ju Yoon Kim was surprised that nothing like a Braille iPad existed. So the University of Washington student set out to invent one. RELATED: Touching the Mona Lisa: Now the Blind Can Enjoy Art Masterpieces Too His first product is a smart watch that raises and lowers pins on its face to create four Braille characters at a time.

The watch works with both iOS and Android devices, allowing the blind to immediately read texts, alerts, and other short messages. Electro-mechanical Braille readers can translate text on computer screens in a method similar to the DOT watch, but the bulky machines can cost more than $2,000. CHECK OUT: Teens Won’t Rest Until Vets Do: App Aims to Stop Night Terrors His company, DOT Inc , plans to sell their wearable device for about $300. It’s impractical for reading longer text such as an e-book, so DOT Inc’s next project is the world’s first Braille smart device which they plan to deliver in 2017. The DOT Pad will feature multiple layers of Braille pins, allowing a more natural reading experience. The DOT Pad will also let users feel shapes, math symbols, and read e-books. Only about one percent of all books in print have been translated for the blind. Having a pocket device that could translate vast libraries of e-books into Braille would write a whole new chapter in reading for the blind. (WATCH the video from Arirang TV below) – Photo: DOT Inc Multiply the Good… SHARE the Breakthrough.

TAGS National Resource Center - Facts and Sources Page 3: Some Facts and Sources, Braille Music and Technology Updated 3/15/2013 This is a good place to start if you are looking for background on braille music and technology, as well as links to the most commonly consulted sites and services. Our resource list page has more offerings, especially on braille libraries and miscellaneous topics. We suggest newcomers try working first with the links on the page you are presently reading, so as to avoid pursuing searches that bring you results not needed at the start. More information for people with low vision is on our Low Vision page. Braille Music Basic Information Braille Music is a form of the six dot braille code. It was invented by Louis Braille at the same time he devised the alphabet. It allows blind readers, from elementary school on, to participate fully in music class activities, read and work through piano, band, or choral parts, study music theory, take sight-singing classes and analyze music scores. The code provides all the information a sighted person sees on a page of print music, including notes and their values, dynamic and expression marks, and fingering.

A page of music in braille Looks similar to a page of text, rather than a music staff. because all the information must be given on a line that the finger can read. Each braille character is a combination of up to six dots, in a rectangular " cell" with room to hold three rows of two dots each. In music, the top four dots show the pitch of the note while the presence or absence of dots on the bottom show the rhythmic value. Special signs are placed before the note to show the octave. A measure is ended with a space. A voice student can read braille and sing at the same time. A piano student reads a few measures of one hand part while playing with the other hand, then reverses hands to do the other hand part. The segments are put together until the whole piece is memorized. A simple chart of the basic braille music symbols is at as with any other braille code, there are rules governing the use of signs, and much practice must be had before one can become a braille music reader.

A video and other information about braille music and how it is used is at Search for "Braille Literacy Resources" and then "music." Sources of Braille Music The largest source of Braille music in the United States is the Music Section of the National Library Service, Library of Congress, phone 800-424-8567, e-mail nlsm@loc.gov Registered Borrowers can request materials to be mailed to them, or can select from a growing collection of more than 4,000 titles for download through the Braille and Recorded Download (BARD) system. Downloaded titles can be read on a braille display or printed on a braille embosser. While the materials themselves can only be used by U.S. citizens who meet specific elibibility requirements, anyone--teachers, for instance--can use the online Catalog to look up what is available. The catalog is at Search for the link "Quick Search of the Online Catalog." One enters a composer and piece in the author and title fields.

Additionally, circulars and factsheets, transcriber lists and code books, can be found on the Music Section's own web site, Besides braille music scores, the NLS Music Section has instructional materials in recorded form (now also available for download on BARD) and also a large-print music collection. Any U.S. citizen who receives braille or recorded materials from an NLS cooperating network library is eligible to register for borrowing music material. Registration forms are available through the network libraries, or one may contact the Music Section directly. Braille music is produced by transcribers working independently or through agencies, which provide music on loan or for purchase. A database listing most agencies' holdings is The Louis catalog, run by the American Printing House at A growing number of sources, national and international, have music holdings. See our resource list page for web sites. Certified Transcribers Arranging to have music that is not already available put into braille usually involves locating a certified transcriber who has the time to take on the assignment. Ideally, a student or school should build a relationship with a transcriber, who can prepare materials the school can provide in advance.

Lists of transcribers may be found on the Music Section's web site and also that of the National Braille Association, National Braille Press, maintains a list of transcribing agencies nationwide. Although most of the agencies listed produce literary braille, some may have a staff member knowledgable in the braille music code and may be a resource for people in their local service areas. Skilled transcribers are much in demand and their specialized work is greatly appreciated. A good way for sighted people to learn what's involved in transcribing music, or get enough of an understanding of how the braille music code works through hands-on practice, is to take the correspondence course, Braille Music Basics, from the Hadley School for the Blind. The actual process of becoming a braille music transcriber involves taking a correspondence course from the Library of Congress and passing the certification exam. Braille Music Translation Software. Braille translation software makes it possible for school personnel who do not know the braille music code to produce band parts and specific assignments for their students.

The most widely used system for doing this is the GOODFEEL (R) Braille Music Translator from Dancing Dots Braille Music Technology, Phone (610) 783-6692, web site Other systems are sold by Opus Technologies, phone (858) 538-9401, Web site With the GOODFEELï¿½ suite of software, there are three ways to create scores that can be automatically converted into the equivalent braille music. Both blind and sighted users can enter music directly using the Lime notation editor software. Scores in the MusicXML format created in programs like Sibelius and Finale can be imported. A music OCR program is included for scanning scores that can be saved as MusicXML or NIFF format and imported into the Lime software. Scanned music generally requires some editing before it can be translated into braille. Correcting the inevitable scanning errors requires viewing the original score so sighted users are best suited to this task. Once the music has been translated, the braille output can be embossed or E-mailed to the student.

It is recommended that people doing this type of work have training, as one need to know how to avoid pitfalls that could affect the readability of the output. Learning to Read Braille Music The braille music code can be learned by people of any age, but it is generally recommended that learning wait until the student is already a fluent reader of contracted literary braille. Beyond that, such considerations of how and when the code should be learned--whether separately or along with an instrument, or after lessons in the instrument have begun--will depend on many circumstances. Some of these include the students' needs, abilities, and preferences; the amount of time available to both a student and teacher in the midst of other school activities; and whether lessons are being taught by a vision teacher who may or may not know how to read music, a teacher cognizant of the braille music system or a general piano or instrumental teacher who does not know braille. A teacher does not need to know the braille code in order to help a motivated student gain fluency in reading music. However, a plan should be in place.

It needs to be understood that a student is going to need time to learn the basics of the music code before being able to make full use of it in the regular music class. We again mention the Braille Music Basics course available from the Hadley School for the Blind As a good way for sighted people to get some background and experience. Today, there are a number of places parents and teachers can turn to to discuss the particular situation and find people and strategies that can help. See the section on support on this page. We often hear from piano teachers, who find suddenly that they will be working with a blind student. Piano teachers will be happy to know that several of the method books, such as the Alfred and Bastien series, as well as the Suzuki books, are available in braille, on loan from the Music Section of the Library of Congress. These must be borrowed in the student's name. As mentioned, however, before jumping into those books, it is a good idea for the student to learn at least the rudiments of the braille music code from books designed to teach it.

Distance Learning The section after this one lists some books for learning braille music, which still provide the best type of learning for a younger student with a teacher, or an adult with access to a teacher to work with periodically. However, there are a number of agencies and individuals that can work with motivated students through correspondence, by phone, or online, usually through Skype. The hadley School for the Blind offers "Braille Music Reading." This is a structured course that lays good foundations and gives students the ability to read basic music. It is meant for adults or those of high school or college age, no younger than fourteen. For customized learning, a student may arrange to work with a teacher if there is a particular goal or objective, such as to prepare for a high school or college theory course. Some places to look into for customized instruction are The Music suite themusicsuite@verizon.net Dancing Dots. The National resource Center has worked with students and still can, but often is in a better position to help locate other teachers. It runs its residential Summer Institute. See the full resource list for camps and other music learning programs. Braille Music Learning Books Several books for learning the braille music code are available.

They range from simple introductions to a full course in braille and print from Dancing Dots. All the books are available on loan from the Music Section. of the Library of Congress. If they are to be used extensively, they can be purchased from the sources listed along with the book titles below. When ordering from the Music section, you can request a copy both in braille and in print, so the teacher will have what the student is reading. The print editions must be borrowed in the student's name. As a general introduction, we highly recommend "Who's Afraid of Braille music" by Richard Taesch and William McCann, an inexpensive purchase from Dancing Dots, or National Braille Press, and "how To Read Braille Music" by Bettye Krolick, also available from National Braille Press. If a teacher is ready to put a regular and consistent amount of time into working with the student on the elements of the braille music code, then the Dancing Dots course books may be ideal. A staple we use, and from which generations of students have learned, is the Primer of Braille Music by Edward W. Jenkins, available on loan from the Music Section or for purchase from the American Printing house for the Blind.

None of the books require that the teacher know braille, though it helps to have a thorough understanding of how the braille code differs from print music. Another thing music teachers with beginning students should keep in mind is that there are many activities they can do with a blind child before working on the braille reading itself. It is essential for the student to understand and be fluent with the the fundamentals of music, including distinguishing rhythmic values in patterns. It is recommended that students know the note names as letters, number in the scale, and solfege names, and start recognizing intervals. The introductory books outline some exercises, but the teacher can be assured he or she can fill the early lessons with plenty of activities just by drawing upon common sense and creativity. Technological Solutions for a Blind Person to Acquire Music Enterprising musicians and students have been exploring accessible solutions that will allow for having access to printed music in the mainstream. These usually involve working with computer files in various formats rather than scanning.

While there is nothing hard in the procedure of scanning, and sometimes we are lucky enough to have something come out beautifully on the first try, results will be inconsistent due to the graphical nature of music and the inability to use editing tools to make corrections that require manipulation of the visual image. The situation improves if the music is already in a file. Class exercises Using Music XML Many students have worked out successful arrangements where the professor e-mails a Music XML version of the file which was made for producing the print work sheets for the class. Most standard notation programs, such as Finale and Sibelius, have an option to export files into a standard format called Music XML. This format can be read by the Lime Music editor in the Dancing Dots GOODFEEL suite. Once it is in Lime, it can then be translated into braille. At this time there are some limitations in Lime's ability to handle more complex files in Music XML, but it may work well enough for simple theory work sheets and band parts. MIDI Files on the Internet Another format Lime can work with is MIDI. A Midi file does not have facilities to convey elements such as dynamics, but it may be good for music situations where these are not important.

MIDI files are readily available on the Internet. How successfully a file from the Web can be converted is dependent on how well the file was constructed to begin with. Music As PDF Files Today, the most popular format for the electronic exchange of print music is for the music images to be stored in portable document format, PDF. Not only do PDF files abound on the Internet, they are also produced by publishers. Sometimes publishers make files of sheet music and textbooks available to those requesting accessible versions. More and more often, A CD-ROM of PDF files is included, standard, with the commercial product. A theory book may come with a CD-ROM with the music as PDF, for instance. Again, just how well the PDF file can be converted into braille will depend on a number of circumstances, but once one has figured out what the parameters are for success, converted files can be used to supplement those that must be specially transcribed. Just like scanning, not all the conversion may be possible to be done by a blind person completely independently. Quite a bit can, however.

The conversion process usually requires that the file be sent to a "virtual printer," to turn the PDF file into an image that OCR music recognition software like Sharp-Eye in the Dancing Dots Suite will be able to read. The image is sent to the OCR software, as though it had been scanned. Accuracy should be better than with a scanned file, but there may still be problems. There are also utilities that allow for a PDF file to be converted into music one can hear. New printing and conversion products keep coming out. It is best to ask for a recommendation at the time one needs them. Considerations are not only how well a roducts function, but the accessibility of the user interface. Dancing Dots and musicians who do this work on a regular basis are the best to ask. Finding Music Files on the Internet Google searches bring up thousands of sites containing music files, from solo instruments to scores, rehearsal back tracks or choral parts, in such formats as audio, MIDI, or PDF. Like anything else on the Internet, quality varies. The intended uses for the files and the accessibility of the web pages themselves are all factors to consider in a music search. Our resource list page has a few that students and listserv members report having used successfully.

Help and Support The National Resource Center is best at answering questions relating to college music study, since most of our experience has been with the challenges of people in that age range. We can often connect people with students of past Summer Institutes or teachers from that program, or others who have contacted us who have expertise in a particular area. There are a number of groups that are glad to help with music education and beyond. One of the best sources of information and help for students, teachers, and musicians of all ages and abilities is the Music Education Network for the Visually Impaired, MENVI, A free membership organization stemming from the work of the Braille Music Division of the southern California Conservatory of Music, it connects members with an advisory committee of experts in the field, has a membership directory, and a discussion listserv. The listserv is particularly useful. Discussions range from teaching to how to deal with such challenges as studying choral conducting or performing in an ensemble. There are several other listservs discussing music issues, some related to the blindness consumer organizations, as well as private endeavors. Two popular ones are Braillem, which discusses braille music issues, and Midimag which deals with technological developments.

Dancing Dots has two lists for users of its products and courses. See our Resources page for subscription information. Technology for Blind Musicians The music technology now accessible for blind musicians and students falls into two broad categories--software that works with notation, either print or braille, and software that allows people to produce and manipulate music as sound, such as for recording studio work. Notation Software The notation software we teach most often to our students is contained in the GOODFEEL(R) package from Dancing Dots. This is a suite of programs which includes Lime, a music editor, and scripts called Lime Aloud that make it accessible with JAWS; Sharp-Eye, a music scanning program, and the GOODFEEL Braille Music Translator, which can translate properly prepared print music files into braille. These programs are used in different combinations to meet various needs. Our students most often use these programs to create theory assignments in print, using Lime and the Lime Aloud scripts to enter and print their work, and then the GOODFEEL Braille Music Translator to produce a braille copy. The GOODFEEL system is often purchased by schools and colleges, allowing for certain materials to be prepared on-site.

Contact Dancing Dots directly to learn about the various options and prices. Teachers and others who plan to use these products to produce music for a student should also consider that time will be needed for training and should talk with Dancing Dots about this as well. The program Sibelius, popular in schools and used in the music publishing industry is used by blind people, especially when more complex music arranging is called for. Some people have found it useful for reviewing scores already in Sibelius that are not available or are too cumbersome in braille. Scripts called Sibelius Access make Version 5 accessible with JAWS; work continues on access to version 6. Version 7 has some accessibility features that make parts of it usable without scripts and with other screen readers, such as NVDA, however, the work to develop scripts for version 7 continues, in order to achieve a more complete degree of access. Information about all the scripts can be found at under the link for Sibelius Access. This is also the place to subscribe to the Sibelius Access listserv, where users network and share news.

People often ask us about the differences between using Sibelius, which is a mainstream product, and Dancing Dots' Lime Aloud, which is part of the GOODFEEL package. While Lime Aloud has some limitations, it is designed for use by blind people, whereas the combination of the highly sophisticated Sibelius and the challenges of using it with a screen reader, require motivation and patience to master. One major factor has to do with braille, especially for those who use braille displays. With Sibelius, braille is not available to the user until after the music inputting stage is accomplished and the file saved--One exports the file as Music XML and then imports it into Lime and then GOODFEEL. With Lime Aloud, a user can read the music on a braille display, in realtime, as it is being entered. For those who want to have the music under their fingers as they enter it, Lime Aloud has some advantages. Music as Sound. We will restrict this discussion to products we tell our students about that will help them meet the requirements of music production courses, such as sequencers and sound editors.

Many of the players, sound library, and CD applications their peers use outside of class, such as Media Player, Winamp, Itunes) are accessible, some with the use of special scripts. It is best to consult with other blind people about software they use. The sequencer still recommended for school use, in the Windows Platform, is Cakewalk Sonar, used in conjunction with CakeTalking. CakeTalking gives access to Cakewalk SONAR, a professional MIDI sequencing and audio editing program used in many recording studios. Music is played from a music keyboard to the click of a metronome, and multiple parts may be added. Then a microphone is used to record audio tracks. All can be edited, speeded up, parts "punched in", and enhanced with effects. All major functions are accessible. Although Designed for studio musicians, the CakeTalking scripts make the program simple enough for elementary school children to enjoy the thrill of composing music. Dancing dots markets the CakeTalking scripts and is licensed by Cakewalk Music Software to sell Sonar version 8.5, which Cakewalk no longer sells directly. Contact Dancing Dots regarding compatibility and accessibility of system components.

For those who cannot afford or who do not need all the sophisticated features of Sonar (note that the newer and less costly versions of Cakewalk products are currently not accessible), there are a number of free sequencers available. QWS (Quick Windows Sequencer) was developed by a partially sighted musician and is used by many blind musicians. It does not require scripts. It is a free download from There is a QWS support list off the web site with very helpful people ready to answer questions. QWS does not have facilities for recording and editing audio. For that, we personally like Sound Forge (see for information about scripts and compatibility) , but there are several free or low-cost editors to choose among, easy to find with a search engine. Among those having many enthusiasts in the blind community are Goldwave (requires scripts), Audacity, and the multi-track audio editor and sequencer, Reaper ( The ReAaccess Scripts for Reaper are currently at http: CiscoVision.org offers a course on audio editing. Information is at CAVI's Wiki site. Technology in School Music students entering college, or taking advanced music courses in high school, should be prepared to expect that the software used by their classmates may not be accessible.

This is not a matter of failure to comply with disability legislation, but rather the plain fact that the solutions have not yet been found to give blind musicians access to most of the music software used in the mainstream. The most popular program for notation, Finale, is not accessible; access to Sibelius is possible, but requires installation of scripts still under development and a significant amount of training. In schools where Finale or Sibelius are used, we recommend that blind students do their work on their Windows computers. Use of Sibelius may bedcome more practical as 0work on access scripts continues. For now, we recommend these only for those who are advanced with computers and who have teachers willing to work along with them. The easiest solution right now is to use Lime Aloud from Dancing Dots, which is part of the GOODFEEL package. Students can write, revise, and print out music assignments directly, using the Lime Notation editor in the Dancing Dots GOODFEEL software suite. If the teacher wants the music as a computer file, the student can export the project created with Lime into a standard file format called MusicXML, which the teacher can then import into Finale or Sibelius.

For the situation where a teacher has prepared music handouts on the computer for distribution to the class in print, the blind student can ask the teacher to provide these files in MusicXML. Newer versions of Finale have the ability to export files into MusicXML, which the student can read with Lime on his own computer. If the school uses Sibelius or an older version of finale that lack this export feature, plug-ins are available to make the conversion possible. Information about the methods of sharing files can be found on the Dancing Dots Web site. The same holds true in the area of sound editing. Using one or more programs including SONAR with CakeTalking, Sound Forge, GoldWave, and other sound editors a student or professional can achieve the same results as with Protools, and files may be exchanged. With any of the above-mentioned software, please feel free to call the Resource Center, especially with regard to its use by students. Macintosh Platform, Pro Tools, Garage Band, and Mac User Groups As the IOS operating system is pretty much everywhere and most music schools expect students to be using Macintosh machines, blind students ask what the options are for them on this platform. IOS devices have built-in screen reading, in the form of Voiceover.

The biggest positive going for the Mac is that, thanks to the mammoth efforts of blind musicians and advocates, the well regarded program, ProTools, is accessible (The Windows version is not). ProTools is standard software found in recording studios and schools, and many professional blind musicians and music students are using it. There is a ProTools Access listserv. To subscribe, send mail to ptaccess+subscribe@googlegroups.com. Another strong positive is that Garage Band works well, and could be a good place for a teen ager or more experienced musician to start for multi-track recording. So far, this seems to be where the positives end. Other recording programs, commonly used, such as Logic, have little to offer in terms of accessibility. As far as we know, none of the programs dealing with music notation will work for a blind Mac user. And while opinions vary, many blind people still find Windows machines more practical for non-music applications. If one needs what the Macintosh offers but still needs to use Dancing Dots software, which is Windows based, one possibility would be to get a Mac that can run Windows and JAWS.

Users should look carefully at the keyboards on such computers, to make sure they won't have problems when using such a machine in the Windows environment. The National Resource Center is as yet not involved with Macintosh accessibility issues. Those who want to stay updated on the ongoing work of blind musicians in this area , as well as get educated advice on the music and nonmusic aspects, are invited to contact the Blind Mac Users Group, BMUG, at info@blimug.org. Where to Go From Here Many of the other pages on this site cover the information presented here, albeit in different ways or in mor detail. The resource list page begins with many of the categories here, but with more entries; then it goes on to suggest resources on subjects not covered here, such as music in large print and audio scores, courses, schools, and summer programs, organizations and listservs, metronomes, tuners, and sources of braille music in other countries. We also highly recommend the music page on the web site of the Royal National Institute of Blind People, RNIB. The address for that is End of text on this page, navigation links follow

Question: What was the first name of Mr. Braille, who devised a system allowing blind people to read and write?
Answer: LOUIS