Refreshable Braille Display (RBD) is a device that enables people with visual imparity to read digital text through tactile interface. Braille literacy is essential for empowerment of visually impaired people and offers several advantages over auditory aids. Commercially available RBDs have not been able to penetrate the market due to their high cost. Shape memory alloy (SMA) based Braille display is a low cost alternative but faces the challenge of high power consumption, heat accumulation and low refresh rate. This paper discusses the design, analysis and experimental validation of a cantilever based compliant mechanism for SMA based RBD to solve these issues.
Linear guides are extensively employed in several industrial applications. Miniaturization, minimal friction, cost efficiency and low maintenance are the major challenges faced while developing a linear motion system. This paper presents design and realization of such systems, overcoming the aforementioned challenges. Linear guidance mechanisms, suitable for implementing latching in Refreshable Braille Displays are proposed, where uniform behavior under eccentric loading is required. Several low cost, reliable and efficient guide mechanisms with predetermined dimensional constraints have been designed. Seven mechanisms are illustrated and analyzed in this paper, which includes both, traditional contact-based mechanisms and compliant mechanisms that offer contact-less motion. The paper further compares the functionality, cost feasibility and ease of manufacturing and assembly of these mechanisms.
Refreshable Braille Display (RBD) is a device that enables people with blindness to access digital textual content through tactile interface. The use of commercially available RBDs is restricted to affluent individuals and organizations due to their high cost, which restricts their penetration in developing nations. Braille displays based on shape memory alloy actuators are a potential low cost alternative but face the challenge of high power consumption, heat accumulation and low response time. This paper proposes an SMA based actuator with a novel latching mechanism to make RBDs. It also discusses the design and production challenges addressed in making the RBD. It further compares the performance of the current prototypes with previous designs of SMA based RBDs.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.