Meet Dot, the smartwatch that “speaks” in braille

Technology has provided tools to make people's lives easier. However, one of the most promising possibilities is that its resources are used to provide greater social inclusion. This seems to be the case for Dot, startup south korean that believes that the visually impaired can greatly benefit from smartwatch technology. In appearance, the Dot looks like a traditional smartwatch, but it is the world's first braille device.

O Dot has a panel with 24 pins which “displays” up to four characters at a time, but in braille. the pegs go up and down to form new words as the person checks the information. Can you use the Dot all with read documents on desktop or emails received on the smartphone, for example. Connection to devices can be made via the interface Bluetooth 4.0 ou USB.

The pin panel update speed is configurable, so the user can adjust it as they get used to the device, making, for example, the e-book reading more practical and comfortable. There are other functionalities besides reading, such as alarm, GPS and resource of Notifications (the watch is also equipped with a vibration component) and, of course, it is possible to check the time on it.

With so many features, in addition tothe up and down of the pins, it is natural to imagine that the battery life be affected, but the developers of Dot claim that the device will withstand up to 10 hours constant use after a full charge. On average, users will have to recharge the watch every 5 days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF7HEBOq6hc

O Dot was created to be accessible. While a portable braille reader can cost more than 2 thousand dollars (about 6.900 reais), the smartwatch should not cost more than $300 (approximately 1.000 reais). For the project to proceed, Dot needs to secure an investment round on the order of 1 million dollars until the end of this month. If all goes well, sales start at the end of the year.

THE LEGEND:

• the dot: braille smartwatch
• the dot: startup South Corean