Squibble portable Braille interface is clever, beautiful
By Nilay Patel 
posted December 7th 2009 7:01PM
posted December 7th 2009 7:01PM
posted December 7th 2009 7:01PM
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yay for the blind
@zackn87
I wish I could speak Braille...
@New Reformation
I wish I could speak pencil...
@zackn87
i wish i was blind
@nigra
that can be arranged.
@zackn87 You don't have to be nice. Hint; they can't read this.
@MJGAMER 1991 XBL
Microsoft Sam.
@MJGAMER 1991 XBL Who says they can't read this? They might have someone reading it out to them or they have their own Braille reader so they can use the computer.
What kind of new awesomeness is this?
I never knew the blind were so ripped.
@Higher Up
What?? I clicked on the source link and the picture (which lead to the same place) and I see no ripped, blind people.
I wonder how fast the braille caps lift up...anyways, seems cool.
BLIND POWER!!
@Slutty McNugget Hmm.. hopefully it's not as slow as our current E-paper tech
thanks to this technology and nair for my palms, I no longer fear excessive masturbation!
Imagine if THIS was teamed with Google Goggles - I would have thought that would be a fantastic new world for someone who is blind - knowing what the shop is etc. without having to ask someone.
One has to wonder what the point of illuminating the dots is...
@Wossname
It seems obvious to me, even blind people want their gadget to look good while they are sitting in the local starbucks drinking coffee. heh, do people even drink straight coffee there anymore?(and no, I am not old...)
@New Reformation
You're old!
@Wossname
Legally blind people cannot see depth, color, shape, or size. A vast majority, however, can see differences in light density and illumination. Ask a blind person what they actually can see and the answer might surprise you, since "legally blind" only means visually unable up to a certain point.
@Wossname "The lights act as an outward sign of the interface and aid interaction for users who may have some shape or light perception, it also means it has a level of involvement for anybody, regardless sight difficulties - hopefully making it more social which was part of the goal. :)"
Anyone else think of squibblenauts?
Uh, is it me or is the company's slogan in the bottom right wrong? Shouldn't it say, "Enjoy reading your messages, not being read to," as in having someone read to you?
Digging the typo in the company's slogan. Unless I'm reading it wrong. "...being read too!" Shouldn't it be "...not being read to!"?
@JShav
Digging the fact that you were 5 minutes late on that discovery of yours!
Why can't this beautiful device also have a version with a screen thrown in!!! that looks so awesome, why do all phones have to be ugly and cheap looking... :(
@APV
This device is made for blind people. Why would a blind person need a screen again?
Sorry if I missed the sarcasm.
Why do they make it so good-looking when it's for the blind? Just wondering.
@saspr
They deserve nice things too! Just because they can't see, doesn't mean they're born yesterday or chop liver. Their friends could probably see and hearing nice compliments is a definite ego or happiness boost.
@saspr
Shallow much?
@gmcboot No, not shallow. Just curious why they would spend time and money designing a good-looking product for the blind rather than spend that time and money making it with better functionality and ergonomics.
illuminating a braille keyboard seems like a poor use of battery life
This guy is from my University! He graduated last year from the Industrial Design course I'm studying. Can't believe I'm seeing it on engadget after seeing it at the degree show six months ago.
I don't "see" this one working out.
@TGrant I see what you did there..
Pretty cool. I'm guessing he means silicone and not silicon.
my current job is relate to blind people's educational product research. It sad to say, but blind people in reality are low income people, many of them have hard time to find decent jobs. This product can only target to those blind who have rich daddy or mommy. :(
my current job is relate to blind people's educational product research. It sad to say, but blind people in reality are low income people, many of them have hard time to find decent jobs. This product can only target to those blind who have rich daddy or mommy. :(
ps. I hate new Engadget commenting system...
Squibble portable Braille interface is clever, beautiful
Yes, but is it useful? I'm totally blind, and use a Windows Mobile phone, which is perfectly accesible. The IPhone and Symbian Series 60 platforms are also very usable. While I admire the inginuity of the designer, I would be most grateful to see it employed, if it is to help the blind, on making existing products more accessible out of the box, rather than in manufacturing another specialized product. They cost more, sometimes about ten times the price of comprable mainstream products, and are thus out of reach of most blind users.
@amsing
It's helpful to have someone such as yourself on a post such as this. In a comment above, I mentioned that this device could possibly benefit from being paired with Google Goggle. In that someone who is blind could use the device to take pictures of their surroundings and receive braille information back. There could even be discrete 'Info points' in shops so that a picture would provide a store guide or menu etc. in braille on this device. Do you think in your experience that would be useful?
IS this another one of those articles that is meant to sell jobs to designers but the product will not be actually made?
Well upon checking: "this image was taken of the prototype, but it is almost fully developed, and hopefully will go further. :) "
So yeah, don't hold your breath blind people, this seems like one of those stories about batteries that last 10 times longer, they will be made... soon..ish..maybe
I hope some millionaire sees this stuff and pushes it into reality, it looks like really liberating for the target group.
@TC
I haven't seen Goggle in practice, I don't use Android because the screen reader is still very limited, but two issues come to mind. First, I can't take a picture accurately, nor can most other blind users. How close would people have to come to get their information to taking a picture of the exact sign, etc, that they want to know about? My knowledge of photography is almost zero, but I assume one needs to use a viewfinder or something like it to know what the camera is seeing. For a blind user, this might not work, though for users with really bad vision, this might be possible. GPS is easier, though of course less accurate, because the fix is given by the position, not by the user pointing at a specific point in space.
Further, keep in mind that, even if the pictures could be taken exactly enough to get the information, I think most people would like audio from the phone more than braille, as we now have with GPS. This is because one hand is working with the cane or dog and the other may be busy holding something. Even I would like this and I have a moderate hearing impairment. I think for any but deafblind users, audio would probably be better than braille.
blind people always get the most beautiful stuff!
Can you get it in pretty colors?