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Home / News / This is the world’s first braille smartwatch

This is the world’s first braille smartwatch

Breakthrough tech gets shrunk down to size

A South Korean startup called Dots has created a braille-enabled smartwatch to help the visually impaired receive and read smartphone notifications directly on their wrists.

Resembling a fitness tracker, the Dot is able to display four braille characters at once, thanks to a grid of tiny physical dots that can lower and raise themselves, forming braille letters in the process.

Electronic braille readers have existed for quite some time, but this is the first time their bulky size has been cut down enough to be worn on the wrist.

http://youtu.be/zmpl81WmFSo

In addition to notifications, text messages or emails, the Dot can also translate text from a webpage or ebook, and it can act as a standard watch too.

The Dot will also be relatively affordable, landing in December with a US$300 price tag, and its creators also want to bring the technology to other public services such as cash points.

There’s no word on a mainstream UK release as of yet, but we’ll update this story with new information, as and when we get it.

[via QZ]

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Esat has been a gadget fan ever since his tiny four-year-old brain was captivated by a sound-activated dancing sunflower. From there it was a natural progression to a Sega Mega Drive, a brief obsession with hedgehogs, and a love for all things tech. After 7 years as a writer and deputy editor for Stuff, Esat ventured out into the corporate world, spending three years as Editor of Microsoft's European News Centre. Now a freelance writer, his appetite for shiny gadgets has no bounds. Oh, and like all good human beings, he's very fond of cats.