Problem
285 Mio. people worldwide are blind or visually impaired. Existing digital Braille reading devices are bulky and expensive – only 5% of visually impaired people own one. This causes disadvantages in social life, education and employment.
Solution
DOT. The first Braille Smartwatch. It brings new possibilities to millions of visually impaired people. The patented DOT Active Braille Technology reduces size, weight and price by more than ten times.
Benefit
DOT makes communication easy and private, provides fast access to information anywhere, makes navigation more convenient and safe, enables efficient, independent and joyful education, improves work performance and job opportunities, supports leisure and sports activities.
Why Braille?
Audio is impractical: Hearing is most important for visually impaired people. Earphones isolate them from the surrounding, loudspeakers eliminate privacy. For deaf-blind people, Braille is essential.
Result
DOT was released in December 2016. 200,000 units have already been sold.
Technical Specifications
Bluetooth
Connected to Smartphone via Bluetooth.
Patented Active Braille Tech
24 Touch Sensors Controlled Magnetically.
Sensors
Gyroscope and Accelerometer.
Multi-Functional
Can receive any Text Information
from any App
or Service:
Notifications, Messages,
Directions, …
Affordable
$ 290
Utilities
Time, Timer, Alarm, Stopwatch.
Actions
Crown and two Buttons for Input:
Quick Reply, Accept Calls, Remote Control.
Battery Capacity
Battery lasts for 7 Days.
Open System
Anyone can develop or adapt Apps for DOT.
Material
Made from Superlight and Durable Aluminum.
DOT Use cases
Anyone can use the open
DOT API to develop apps or services for DOT.
Existing ones can easily be adapted.
Communication
DOT makes communication easy, comfortable and private: incoming text messages as well as messages and notifications from social networks are converted to Braille and forwarded automatically to DOT. Using the crown and buttons, pre-determined answers can be selected and sent back immediately. Caller recognition displays the name of the caller; the call can be accepted or rejected using the buttons.
Education
TDOT enables efficient, independent and joyful education: since DOT is so affordable, it means that most visually impaired people will now have access to digital Braille learning for the first time. Special Braille education programs allow students to learn more efficiently and conveniently than ever, independently of static devices and teachers. Speech-to-text translation will help users to learn expressions from conversations.
Information
DOT provides fast and easy access to information anywhere: tailor-made, shortened news feeds inform the user about the news, weather and any other topic – on demand or at preset times or intervals. Image-to-text translation allows users to scan text with the smartphone camera and read it on their DOT.
Navigation & Transport
DOT makes navigation and transport more safe and convenient: turn-by-turn navigation allows users to reach their destination faster. Cooperation with services such as Uber allow users to arrange individual transportation more easily. Connections with public transport data provides access to time schedules and notifies users of delays.
Home
DOT makes living at home more comfortable: many visually impaired people rely on smart home technology. DOT allows them to control things such as their lights and appliances more easily and even remotely.
Work
DOT improves work performance and opens up new fields of work: on account of its portability and practicality as a communication and information device, DOT enables visually impaired people to enter new fields of work or perform better in existing ones, such as industrial production, IT and management. For employers, this means improved access to a highly motivated workforce.
Sport
DOT enhances the quality of sports activities: DOT replaces the need for assistance, enabling users to undertake sports activities independently. It also displays information such as distance and speed.
DOT Innovation
DOT is based on the patented Active Braille Technology, developed by DOT Inc.
At its core is innovative multi-actuator technology: pins are controlled by magnetism instead of piezoelectricity as is used in existing digital Braille devices. This reduces the size and the production cost more than tenfold, increases speed and keeps energy consumption low. The actuators use solenoid, which responds to the electromagnetic force triggered between magnets and a coil to raise each braille pin. DOT uses haptic force feedback technology to detect finger presence and movement on the pins. As soon as the finger has read the displayed characters, the pins are automatically changed to show the next characters. Along with specially developed software, this makes it possible to display text rapidly and conveniently even with only four Braille cells in a limited space. Unlike conventional refreshable Braille devices, where the finger moves over Braille cells set in a row reading one line at a time, DOT allows the finger to remain relatively static while the Braille scrolls under it like a treadmill.
DOT Universe
Experience
Educational institutions and individual testers get early access to prototypes.
Everyone can experience DOT at trade fairs, roadshows and stationary retail partners around the world.
Prominent visually impaired personalities like Henry Wanyoike, Andrea Bocelli and Stevie Wonder support DOT.
Partnership
Cooperations with Google and Uber, more in development.
Collaborations with educational institutes worldwide for research and testing.
Cooperation with the 2018 Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang.
Development
DOT Mini with lower price for developing countries.
DOT Active Braille Technology for public facilities, such as ATMs and train stations.
DOT Pad to be released in 2017.
DOT Evolution
Over the course of two years, DOT functionality and design
has been adapted to respond to feedback
from a diverse range of visually impaired testers.