Braille Messenger www braillemessenger com Braille Messenger 1

Braille Messenger www. braillemessenger. com

Braille Messenger 1 st place on 2012 Microsoft’s Imagine. Cup local finals Participates on Imagine. Cup finals on July 2012, Sydney Braille Messenger founders Vasileios Mitrousis Aristodemos Paphitis

Motivation The facts Texting is dominating telecommunications worldwide 3. 8 billion cellular subscriptions in developing nations On the other side 284 million visually impaired in 2011 (WHO) 39% are totally blind

The problem Touch screen devices expand rapidly in smartphone markets Touch screen displays make visually impaired truly blind So, how can they communicate with existing methods?

Our goal Connect visually impaired to the global mobile community Eyes-free message composition Eyes-free message reading

Braille Code A 3 x 2 binary matrix, up to 63 combinations Supports over 130 languages Hardware exists since 1939

Evolving text composition Traditional method in a new way Precise, fast No training needs Same layout as in braille typewriters

Why this is different Bluetooth braille keyboards Very expensive Limited mobility Speech to text Language/accent restrictions Difficulty in noisy environments Privacy

Innovation in reading “See no evil, hear no evil” It uses nothing but touch Phone provides vibrations User percepts position of dots UNIQUE solution for deaf blindness

What’s next Prototypes are already functional Braille Messenger will be available for Windows Phone 7 i. Phone Android Scheduled release at the end of July Future development includes social media and email

Thank you! I will be happy to answer any question