BRAILLETECH: ELECTROBIOMECHANICAL DEVICE FOR INCEPTIVE BRAILLE LEARNING

Abstract

The present paper displays the design process and characteristics of the BrailleTech. BrailleTech is a low-cost teaching device that encourages pre-K through 1st-grade children to learn the alphabet and acquire letter recognition skills through interactive methods that stimulate their tactile and auditory senses. It is programmed through Arduino and includes passive infrared sensors (PIR), a DF player SD, and solenoids. The solenoids act as braille dots to display letters, depending on their pattern, while the speaker informs the child of the letter that is currently shown. The device is an electrobiomechanical device programmed to coordinate the spelling of the letter with the electromechanical movement of the related audio and the appropriate braille dots solenoid representation. The device responds to the child’s motion that the sensors perceive and activates other functions that are constantly repeated each time the sensor is activated. The objective is to aid young children to progress from pre-literacy to literacy in an enjoyable and simple manner.