well, aside from the case, the cells and the braille keyboard, yes. Considering I have had some 30 years in the field experience building out systems of various types and capabilities, this is not outside the realm of reality for me. oh yes, there is one item that I might need that wasn't listed, a USB to braille cell interface. there is a polish company that actually makes the entire unit (USB to braille cell interface). its about $100 for the entire unit (I just remembered reading an article about it early last year).
-eric
On Jan 12, 2016, at 5:55 AM, Gerry Leary wrote:
> Have you actually done this? I kind of doubt it?
>
> Sent from my iPhone this time
>
>> On Jan 10, 2016, at 11:15 PM, Eric Oyen <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> ok.
>> here is what I found so far where I can build my own for cheap.
>>
>> processor: $9 chip computer (with 4 GB of ram, 1 GB internal storage, =
>> USB 3.0 ports, Wi-fi, bluetooth and installable Linux OS). note the =
>> price: $9. That is just retail. Also, this is a full Intel cpu unit, not =
>> an ARM device which the current Braille Sense U2 uses.
>> Li-ion Battery (12V 1.5 Ah): 30
>> QWERTY style keyboard with USB port: $19. I will assume that a similar =
>> braille keyboard will be close to this)
>> A standard wall wart (12 VDC 1 Amp): $5
>> 3-d printed plastic case (about $15 for a single unit, less if mass =
>> manufactured)
>> 9 in 1 memory card interface with 3 additional USB 3.0 slots: $15
>> 7 port USB 3.0 hub for additional ports (internal and external): $30 =
>> (fry's electronics)
>> 32 braille cells: approximately $25 per cell (this is a correction based =
>> on info found here: =
>> https://www.resna.org/sites/default/files/legacy/conference/proceedings/20=
>> 09/TechnologyCognitiveSensory/Matheson.html).. The cost for 32 such =
>> cells is $800.
>>
>> all of the above are retail prices. consider that actual cost of =
>> manufacturing on a mass production scale is about 30% of the above =
>> figures. Even at that, the cost of producing a single unit for myself is =
>> still less than $1200. account for actual cost of manufacturing, and it =
>> comes down to less than $600 per unit cost. the cost per cell could be =
>> lowered significantly if robot assembly was used in place of people at =
>> individual workstations. That would reduce the cost per unit cell from =
>> $25 to $5 per cell. even accounting for minimal markup due to shipping, =
>> distribution and other overhead, the cost of a unit for an individual =
>> would cost about 1/3rd as much as it does now (and that is using the =
>> parts I specified above). so, ethically, there is no reason to be =
>> charging such amounts as $6,000 per unit. please note the cost of the =
>> operating system for this: $0. That is because its freely available and =
>> open source. That means the TCO to the user is considerably less. Also, =
>> Linux has BUILT in facilities (modules) for interfacing with many =
>> devices, including braille interfaces. ABout the only other OS I know of =
>> that has this built in is OS X. forget Microsoft, their so-called =
>> accessibility is an afterthought and only minimally usable on some of =
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