Imagine, you were one of the 43 million blind people living on this planet today.
And be aware: you only have a 10% chance to live in an high income country
where good education and jobs are made possible for you by modern Assistive Technology.
Now let’s imagine, you were a blind schoolchild living in an African village.
Without literacy your future is bleak.
You were told that 200 years ago Louis Braille invented a tactile alphabet,
so that blind children will no longer be analphabets.
And living in the 21st century, the future is even brighter,
for now there are high-tech Braille displays, bringing the world beneath your fingertips.
So you ask: why can’t I have one of these wonderful tools?
And they will tell you:
first: it’s far too expensive, and second: it’s far too delicate.
It will not work in your climate and should not be put into your clumsy hands.
We from TETRAGON Austria believe that in just a few years we can give a more satisfying answer,
when our device, presently under development, will be ready for release.
Our mission is to move Braille from ACCESSIBILITY to wider USABILITY and finally to AFFORDABILITY for everyone.
Over the last 5 years we have worked hard to find a smart technological solution for exactly that
and we call it the “BrailleRing”.
It is a handheld device, best to be compared to a computer mouse.
When you insert your finger into the ring and slide the device across any surface,
you will get the same reading experience as with lines in a book.
The technology we use is much more robust,
needing only a fraction of moving parts and active elements compared to any of today´s solutions.
Instead of hundreds of individually moved pins in conventional Braille displays
we use sturdy rotating elements to form the Braille characters.
And instead of a long and bulky line
we have the characters curled inside of a palm-sized device.
If you are interested in further technical details feel free to contact us.
We expect the technological part to be ready for the first test runs in early 2022.
Now we have to find a way to ensure the widest possible AFFORDABILITY for the BrailleRing.
So, what will happen, if we approach the market in the usual way as all others have done before? Let’s assume:
Beginning 2026 we manufacture 3,000 units per year with production and assembly methods adequate for batches of this size,
leading to high production costs and a retail price well above 1,000 €.
However, with this approach we will only reach high income countries, without selling a single unit to the rest of the world.
And this definitely is not satisfying for the social enterprise we want to be.
We believe there could be a better plan.
Now let’s assume the following:
If we can drastically increase the production batches, we will bring the material costs down to at least one third.
And if we can also cut the assembly costs, the overall expenses could be reduced by another say 50 to 70%.
Further, we plan to devide our market into two areas: the high income countries and the low income countries.
We increase component production to about a 100,000, while again just selling 3,000 units to high income countries.
97% of the produced parts go to partners in low income countries just for the costs of material and shipping,
in order to be assembled and distributed locally, completely for their own business.
This creates a fair win-win situation.
The high income countries will benefit from a price reduction to 50%.
Low income countries can get the components and the software license for only 60 €, a reduction by 95%,
while at the same time, creating jobs and gaining expertise for maintenance.
With this scenario, every single year 100,000 blind people in low income countries could access state-of-the-art braille technology.
So what is necessary to get this flying?
First of all, we are looking for partners, ready to share our vision,
willing to support our team with both knowledge and experience,
helping us build a network in low income countries.
Secondly, we need sponsors or social investors, willing to supply about 400,000 € to get the production running.
If things will go as planned the investment can be returned less than four years later
and the first full patch of a 100,000 BrailleRings will go to low income countries in 2027.
And now imagine you were a said blind schoolchild in 2027 asking for a Braille device,
enabling you to compete with your sighted peers
and the answer would be: Yes, here it is for less than 100 dollars.