Braille Displays and eBooks: Reading Without Barriers
Although it is still possible to buy printed books, electronic books are taking over the market. Nowadays, one can read ebooks not only using computers, laptops, ebook readers or reading programmes but also braille, the tactile writing system for blind individuals, invented by L. Braille in the 19th century.
What Braille Is
Louis Braille was a French inventor. At the age of three, he was blinded as a result of an accident in his father’s workshop. Despite his disability, Braille attended a special school for the blind where he was able to develop his musical and reading skills.
Inspired by an alternative form of writing invented by Charles Barbier and used by soldiers, Braille created a new writing system. He perfected Barbier’s system by creating a simple and effective way of writing letters, numbers and punctuation marks in a code of raised dots.
Although Louis Braille died at 43, his invention lives on, providing the blind with independence and equal chances.
At first the dots were impressed by hand, mostly into paper, then created using slate and stylus tools, then typed on paper using Braille typewriters. In the age of fast technological advance this process, too, was digitised, thus creating new possibilities for blind individuals.
Electronic Braille
As is the case with many appliances, the development of technologies linked to displaying information in braille was gradual and encompassed different technological solutions. First electronic braille terminals began to appear in the second half of the 20th century. Nowadays, refreshable braille displays (these two terms may be used interchangeably) are advanced appliances. It is possible to “display” braille dots on the surface of these devices by pushing and retracting special pins, the changing configuration of which forms a text written in braille. They resemble a small, oblong keyboard with raised dots, which form letters, on the surface. Blind individuals read the letters by moving their fingers from left to right along the terminal. The display works in real time, which means that every change on the computer screen is immediately reflected on its surface.
Refreshable braille displays are usually peripheral devices connected to a computer, phone or tablet. They also work with installed screen readers by generating information sent by the reader in braille, like speech synthesizers generate information from screen readers in sound form.
A Refreshable Braille Display Is More Than a Terminal
The market of refreshable braille displays, despite being niche, offers different solutions for blind and visually impaired individuals.
The models available on the market differ not only in length (and, consequently, the number of characters displayed simultaneously) but also in type of keyboard, additional functions and price. The six-dot keyboard enables its user to enter information into the device memory using braille. Writing on it is like using a braille typewriter.
The most popular brands are:
- Freedom Scientific (Vispero): One of the oldest and most recognized companies in this industry. Their flagship product is the Focus series of refreshable braille displays. It is appreciated for its reliability and the ability to work with different operating systems.
- HumanWare: This Canadian company offers a wide range of appliances, such as the refreshable braille displays BrailleNote and Mantis. They are known for their advanced functions such as notebooks, ebook readers and possibility to connect them to different devices.
- Optelec: A Dutch brand known for innovative solutions for people with vision impairments. The Alva refreshable braille displays they offer have high resolution and are intuitive to use.
- APH (American Printing House for the Blind): A well-known producer of appliances for blind individuals, such as refreshable braille displays. Refreshabraille is their flagship product.
- BrailleTek: Specialises in producing portable braille devices.
Bear in mind that the companies and models described above are only a few chosen examples. The market of refreshable braille displays is dynamic and new solutions appear all the time.
Additional Functions of Refreshable Braille Displays
Modern-day braille terminals and refreshable braille displays offer many additional functions, very useful for blind individuals. Here are some of them:
- Speech synthesis: some models, apart from keeping track of what appears on screen can also read the text aloud. The newest models can also provide information about graphic elements, such as pictures or graphs.
- Braille keyboards: they enable the user to enter the text directly in braille. It is then sent to a computer or another device.
- Connection to other devices: the possibility to connect a refreshable braille display to a smartphone, tablet or ebook reader, which allows its user more mobility.
- Network connectors: USB ports, Bluetooth, which enable data transmission.
- Software: the ability to work with different programmes such as screen readers, text editors or web browsers.
- Audio players: thanks to them it is possible to listen to audio files, such as audiobooks or music.
- Calendars and clocks: facilitate time management and performing everyday tasks.
- Braille notebooks: thanks to this feature a braille terminal can be a personal notebook where you can enter notes, reminders or other information.
In addition to all this, modern-day braille terminal often have features like contrast regulation – it is possible to adjust the pins’ height to one’s preferences. Users can also connect additional devices, like headphones or external keyboards, to them.
An Accessible Ebook More Braille-Terminal-Friendly
If an ebook has been prepared in a way which makes it accessible for screen readers (see: the previous article), it will also be suitable for refreshable braille displays.
In this case, an ebook in digital format is converted into the braille code by a specialised software which translates text to braille characters. For an ebook to be accessible for blind individuals using braille terminals, attention needs to be paid to its format and structure, like the case with books available for everyone. If an ebook is available in text format (e.g. EPUB, TXT) it is much easier to convert it into braille. It guarantees the right structure and makes it possible to add the metadata necessary for the ebook to be read correctly by these programmes. A friendly text structure means clearly marked chapters, subchapters, headers and footers as well as not too many graphic elements – photos, pictures, graphs etc. Another important aspect is that, unlike printed books, ebook have no size or weight limitations. It is therefore possible to store a whole library in a refreshable braille display’s memory and the better prepared an ebook is, the more people will want to add it to their digital library.
The most common problems, which affect the possibility to read a book using a braille terminal, are: DRM – electronic protection from copying (they might make it impossible for braille translation software to read the file), wrongly prepared ebooks (which may cause mistakes while the file is being read), uncommon formats (which may make such ebooks difficult or impossible to read).
Ebook Accessibility for Refreshable Braille Displays Opens Up New Possibilities
Many blind individuals read books using speech synthesizers, ebook readers or audio players. However, many readers prefer to use refreshable braille displays. Unlike a desktop PC, a braille terminal can be taken to school or packed for travels. These devices use batteries. They can be connected to bigger computers, laptops or smartphones. Reading braille grants the reader more discretion and allows them a greater degree of control over the text. Electronic braille is also effective in foreign language learning. Reading with one’s fingers engages the sense of touch, which results in a more profound understanding of texts and memorising more information. What is more, this form is more like reading an ebook with one’s eyes, which creates a sense of belonging to a big group of readers of literature, poetry or popular magazines.
An available book is one that can be read using vision, hearing or touch. It is a book which everyone can read.
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-Braille
The article was created in close collaboration between the Polish Foundation for the Blind and Visually Impaired "Trakt” and Have a Book.
Translated by Aleksandra Kallas
Monika Zarczuk-Engelsma
Monika Zarczuk-Engelsma was born in the Lublin region, and her early years were connected to a school for the blind in Kraków. She graduated from the Academy of Podlasie with a degree in Polish Philology, and then continued her education at the University of Gdańsk, obtaining a diploma in postgraduate studies in Partnership Marketing and Public Relations. This closely aligned with the position she was entrusted with at one of the non-governmental organizations in the Tricity area.
As part of expanding her professional experience, Monika participated in projects teaching computer skills to blind individuals, conducted training on volunteerism, tried her hand at copywriting, took part in the European Union’s European Voluntary Service project, and also secured an internship at the European Economic and Social Committee. Monika is now the office manager of the Polish Foundation for the Blind and Visually Impaired "Trakt.”
In her daily life, she uses Braille but also readily takes advantage of modern technology, such as an iPhone equipped with VoiceOver, a screen-reading laptop, a talking thermometer, and a bathroom scale that announces measurements in a clear female voice. Thanks to these tools, Monika achieves a high level of independence and is able to live the way she enjoys—actively and engagingly, meeting new people, working, reading books, and pursuing hobbies such as playing chess, board and card games, cooking, and traveling (she has already visited over 30 countries).
Currently, she is also raising two wonderful children, taking care of two already adult cats, and running her dream home with a garden.