When LEGOs make headlines, it's usually because they were used to recreate some historical event or the Oscars snubbed them. While I'm always up for hearing about LEGOs being used in cool ways, this bit of LEGO-related news might be the best I've heard yet.
Shubham Banerjee, a 13-year-old from California, has used LEGOs to build a printer for Braille, the reading and writing system for the visually impaired. Now his startup Braigo Labs, which is backed by Intel Corp., will develop the low-cost machines.
Banerjee was inspired to create the device for his school's science fair after he asked his parents how blind people read, according to the Associated Press. They told him to "Google it," and he was surprised to learn that Braille printers can cost at least $2,000.
"I just thought that price should not be there," Banerjee told the AP. "I know that there is a simpler way to do this."
So Banerjee got to work building a much more cost-effective printer with his Lego Mindstorms EV3 robotics kit. He hopes to get a desktop version of this down to $350.
Banerjee programmed the printer to translate electronic text into Braille. You simply tell the device what letters and words to print, and it embosses paper with those characters in Braille. Here's a video of the printer in action. Banerjee's modesty in the clip, not to mention the help from his little sis, are almost too much to handle.
Braigo Labs got its kickstart thanks to an initial investment of $35,000 from Banerjee's dad, and then it received an undisclosed amount from Intel. The company will use the money to hire professional engineers and advisers to really help get the printer off the ground and make it a part of the lives of millions of blind people around the world.
There are an estimated 285 million visually impaired people in the world with 39 million of them living with blindness. A more affordable Braille printer could help more people have access to printing all sorts of materials, from letters to lists to books, especially those in developing countries. Now didn't I tell you this LEGO news would be awesome?
