Orbit Research and the Transforming Braille Group Announce Agreement to 
Produce Low-Cost Refreshable Braille Display
The objective of the project is to produce a stand-alone 20-cell 
refreshable braille display for $300 (or £200) which will bring 
refreshable braille within the reach of children in developing countries 
and will provide libraries in developed countries with a viable 
alternative to hard copy braille.
Wilmington, DE (PRWEB) August 06, 2014
Orbit Research LLC and the Transforming Braille Group LLC are pleased to 
announce an agreement to produce a low cost, refreshable braille display.
Orbit, an international engineering company based in Wilmington, 
Delaware, specializing in high quality, low cost products for blind and 
partially sighted people, will be undertaking the research, development 
and manufacture of this unique product.
The Transforming Braille Group LLC is a global consortium of 
organizations of and for the blind which is investing $1m in the project.
The objective of the project is to produce a stand-alone 20-cell 
refreshable braille display for $300 (or £200) which will bring 
refreshable braille within the reach of children in developing countries 
and will provide libraries in developed countries with a viable 
alternative to hard copy braille. The product will be launched at CSUN 
in 2016.
The display is designed to work through USB and Bluetooth connectivity 
with 'smart' phones and tablets. It is not intended to compete with high 
specification refreshable braille display already on the market 
primarily used in education and employment, but is intended to bring 
braille displayed e-books to a wide audience at an economical price.
"The agreement with TBG is a landmark in our journey to develop and 
manufacture essential products at an affordable cost through the 
application of mainstream technology in unique and innovative ways,” 
said Dr. Gina Spagnoli, Orbit Research’s founder. “While each of our 
previous products has brought a multi-fold improvement in the state of 
the art in terms of performance, cost, size and features, we are 
thrilled that through this partnership with TBG, we will be able to 
offer a game-changing product that will impact the daily lives of 
millions of blind people across the world.”
TBG President, Kevin Carey, said, “At last we have a technology which 
will guarantee the survival of braille. It has been my long-standing, 
publicly stated objective to find a disruptive technology which will 
radically force down the cost of refreshable braille so that the world's 
digital content becomes available in a tactile format. This new device 
will bring braille within the price range of educators in developing 
countries and will enable most blind people to access e-books and other 
internet material without resorting to specialist libraries.”
TBG estimates that its new product will retail at a unit cost less than 
20% of the current market price.
Contact Information
Carla Morris
Orbit Research
http://www.orbitresearch.com
+1 888-606-7248
Kevin Carey
Transforming Braille Group, LLC
http://www.Transformingbraille.org
+44(0)1273 834321

-- 
David Goldfield,

      Founder and Peer Coordinator,
Philadelphia Computer Users' Group for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Feel free to visit my new Web site
http://www.DavidGoldfield.info/


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