A mechanical construction with some braille cells in its center.

Braille Technology

TETRAGON’s products, currently in various stages of prototyping, aim for the goal to make Braille accessible to everyone. The main focus of our product portfolio are refreshable Braille displays.

EcoBraille

EcoBraille is a new modular concept for economically building refreshable Braille displays of various sizes using simple mass-produced components. Sizes may vary from single-line displays with 10 to 80 characters of Braille up to full screens with 7,000 dots, suitable for multi-line Braille and graphics.

This should be achieved by a simple and robust latching mechanism in which small steel balls are moved by sliding magnetic actuators. Unlike most Braille displays currently available, which require an actuator for each individual dot, EcoBraille requires only one actuator for an entire line of dots, regardless of the length of the line. For an average display, this means a reduction in the number of actuators by a factor of 80.

Black plane with some white Braille dots.
Single-line prototype with some raised and some lowered pins that can be perceived by fingers as Braille dots.
Hand in a white glove adjusting a layer with a grid of small holes.
Assembly of a multi-line prototype.

Development of the hardware and the distribution concept for EcoBraille is partly funded and supported by the Vienna Business Agency and Eureka (Innowwide).

BrailleRing

The BrailleRing is a completely new concept for displaying Braille characters. Although the device itself is compact, it allows reading lines of any length.

This is done by displaying the tactile Braille dots on the inside of a rotating ring. When the device is moved over a flat surface with the reading finger on the inside, the ring rotates. This should give the user the same sensation as reading a line of Braille on the tabletop.

Mockup in use
Mockup about the size of a computer mouse. The index finger, resting on the inside of the ring, is able to read passing Braille characters.
Working prototype
Enlarged working prototype. Only nine actuators on the upper half are needed to set all the characters.
Metallic object in the shape of a bulky ring.
Current prototype in its final size, containing all the necessary mechanical parts.

The BrailleRing is TETRAGON’s very first project. The development of this product has been slow due to its technologically disruptive nature, but the knowledge gained in actuator technology has led to the invention of the more conventional and much easier to build EcoBraille.

The BrailleRing was originally developed at TU Wien (Vienna University of Technology), of which TETRAGON is a spin-off. The development was partly funded and supported by FFG (Austrian Research Promotion Agency), Impact Hub Vienna, WINTEC, the Bayer Foundation, and the T-Mobile Environment and Sustainability Fonds.

Braille Keyboard, Embosser & Typewriter

To provide a complete Braille technology toolbox, we are also working on a chord keyboard and a braille embosser for paper, based on existing open source projects. It is planned that these two products will be able to work either as independent devices or as a Braille typewriter when combined.

More details on these products will follow as soon as possible.