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Electronic Braille Displays

What is a Braille Display?

An electronic Braille Display is a tactile device that is placed under a conventional computer keyboard, which enables the user to read the contents of the computer screen, by touch in Braille. They are also known as Paperless, Soft or Refreshable Braille displays and vary in size from 20 to 80 Braille cells. Each cell has 6 or 8 pins made of metal or nylon, which are electronically controlled to move up and down, to display a Braille version of characters that appear on the computer screen.

The displays are designed with buttons and/or bars to enable the user to roam around the screen, reading whichever part they wish. On many displays these buttons can be customised to suit the users needs.

To gain full access to the computer software and data it is also necessary to purchase a screen reading program, for example JAWS, Hal or Window-Eyes. The screen reading program helps the user by dictating what is shown on the Braille display. For example it ensures that the Braille display follows the focus of activity, for example, the cursor or insertion point when word-processing, or dialogue boxes when they appear on screen.

Most Braille displays in combination with screen reading software offer Grade 1 or Grade 2 Braille output. If the PC has a sound card the screen reading software will also offer speech output, which can give different and/or additional information to the Braille.

Large Braille displays (around 70 - 80 cells in length) are designed for use with desktop PCs, fitting under a standard desktop keyboard. They require mains power and connect to the desktop PC via USB, serial or parallel port.

Braille Displays for Laptop and Notebook PCs have fewer cells (usually 40 or less). They rest under the laptop and are usually battery powered (with mains power also provided), ensuring full portability. A few new displays do not have their own batteries and are powered from the laptop PCs batteries via a U.S.B. connection.

All displays have buttons or keys which move the Braille line around the screen (screen navigation), thus allowing access to all parts of the screen. These buttons vary in design from one display to another and may influence which display you prefer.

All displays now have one or two rows of touch cursors, these are tiny buttons, one for each Braille cell. Their function is crucial – if you move away from the PC cursor to read the rest of the screen with your Braille display these tiny buttons allow you to bring the PC cursor to the area of the screen that you are reading with your Braille display e.g. to edit that character or word. Those displays with two rows of touch cursors allocate a variety of functions to the second row.

Braille displays require a screen reading program such as JAWS, Hal or Window-Eyes to gain full access (automatic tracking of cursors, dialogue boxes etc and the ability to read any part of the screen) to a wide variety of programs running under Windows.

Most displays allow the user to customise how the Braille appears on their display, for example by changing the Braille table (which tells the display how to represent each character) and allowing the user to chose how the cursor appears on the display.

Advice on buying equipment

Choosing a supplier: It is usually good practice to contact at least two suppliers so you can then compare the price and service they are offering. Always ensure that a supplier can provide some form of after sales or technical support. When you purchase your equipment you will have some form of warranty or guarantee with it. It is important to find out if it is an on-site warranty or not. If the warranty is not an on-site one, be aware that the product will have to be returned to the supplier for repair.

Electronic Braille displays and screen reading software are always purchased from a specialist supplier who has experience in providing a service to customers with a visual impairment. But if you want to buy a new computer as well as the specialist hardware and software there are two options:

• Purchase the computer from a regular retailer and the access technology from the specialist supplier. In some instances this could mean a cheaper price for the computer.
• Purchase the complete solution from the specialist supplier. This could mean an increased cost for the total equipment bought.

An initially cheaper option can turn out to be more expensive in the long run due to factors like support, warranty and reliability. If you purchase from a regular retailer you will have to install any access technology yourself. If you buy the complete solution from the specialist supplier they will have everything installed, set up and working on your machine for you and also provide after sales service.

Available Options

ALVA Satellite Series: All Alva displays are designed with twin key pads (at either end of the display). These allow the user some control of Windows (e.g. cursoring and tabbing in dialogue boxes) in addition to providing screen navigation and some control of the speech feedback. A double row of touch cursors is positioned above the Braille cells in all of these displays. The first row moves the screen cursor to the Braille cell’s position (cursor routing). The second row enables speech feedback about the graphic or text attributes of the character.

There are 4 displays in the series. The Alva 544 Satellite Traveller is very similar in design to the Alva 544 Satellite, both have 44 cells, but the Traveller is designed to be lighter, smaller and more portable, with 2 hours battery life, whilst the 544 Satellite is heavier but has 15 hours battery life. The 570 Satellite Pro has 70 cells, and the 584 Satellite Pro has 84 cells and are designed for desktop use. The Satellite displays connect via serial or USB.

ALVA 320 Braille Displays: This is an older design of display, preceding the Satellite range. It has 20 cells and an additional 3 status cells, touch cursors and 4 navigational keys. It has batteries (7 hours) and connects via parallel or serial connection.

ALVA Delphi 440 and 480:The ALVA Delphi range preceded the ALVA Satellite, but the Delphi range is still manufactured and sold. These displays have speech output using the PCs sound card. The 440 has 40 cells with 3 status cells, the 480 has 85 cells. Both models have double touch cursors, 4 navigation keys and connect via 2 parallel and 2 serial ports. The 440 has 8 hours battery life.

Baum Vario 40 and Baum Vario 80: These narrow 40 and 80 cell displays have three keys to the left and three to the right which offer some control of Windows applications. They are fitted to a chassis which can support a laptop or a desktop keyboard. Six keys on the front panel enable quick movement of the Braille line around the screen and can be programmed as hot keys which can be application dependent. Cursor routing buttons above each cell allows quick movement of the cursor or mouse pointer to that cell. Seven Braille command keys above the cursor routing buttons enable entries to be made directly in Braille. The 40 cell display is small, light weight and battery powered, with 80 hour life claimed by manufacturer, and two hour re-charge.

Braillex EL 80 and EL 40 desktop: The Braillex Efficiency Line has twin cursor routing (one usually used for routing the cursor to the character you are pointing to, the second can be assigned to suit the user e.g. right mouse click). A sliding Easy Access Bar along the font of the unit of all these displays allows the user to switch between entering navigational commands (up, down, left, right, etc) or PC commands (Tab, Shift-Tab, Enter, Escape, etc). This reduces the need to move hands between the Braille display and the keyboard. The Braille cells are produced by Papenmeier on all of the Braillex range, and have a slightly different feel to other Braille displays. A wide range of screen reading software supports these displays.

Braillex EL 2D-80, 2D-66 and 2D-40: These Braille displays have similar functionality to the EL 80 and 40. However, the 2D versions have an additional 13 cell vertical display that represents each screen line with four dots. This enables the user to gain spatial information about what appears on the screen. The 40 cell version requires main power and is designed for use with desktop computers.

Braillex EL 40s: This is similar in function to the Braillex EL 40 desktop, but is a very small light weight (2lb) battery powered display. Connection is via serial or USB port. It uses the Efficiency line for navigation and control (see Braille EL 80/40).

Braille Star 40 and Braille Star 80: These Braille displays have as an additional feature a built in 4 Mbytes (4000 pages) text editor (scratch pad). Information can be transferred between the Braille display’s scratch pad and the PC e.g. reports, books, web pages, which can then be read from the scratch pad using the Braille display on its own e.g. on a train. A qwerty keyboard is provided when buying this display, to enable typing into the text editor when away from a PC.

Both displays – one 40 cell display and one 80 cells display - have cursor routing keys above every cell and the cells are seated in a concave mounting.

A Perkins style keyboard at the front of the display is used to control the PC, and for navigating around the screen. At either end of the display are triple action buttons for navigation in Windows applications.

Braille Voyager: This is a folding lightweight portable display produced by Tieman. The Braille cells are of a new low energy design, so that this display is powered by the laptop computer’s power supply (connecting via the U.S.B. port), no longer requiring its own power supply, but reducing the battery time of the laptop by about 10% for each session. It is available as a 44 or 70 cell display and it has additional keys to enable more control of the computer from the Braille display, for example Alt, Ctrl and Tab keys. It supports most screen readers and includes the Tieman Express software that allows the user to create macros (simple programs) and gain access to parts of the screen that can be difficult to access otherwise.

Braille Wave: This 40 cell display weighs 35oz, is 14 inches long and 4 inches wide. It is battery operated and has a notetaker facility and can transfer information back and forward to the PC. The display has concave cells, touch cursors and function keys. The Braille Wave can be connected to the Nokia 9210 I using one cable. The display can drive the phone, using all of the phone functions including the address book.

Focus 44 Focus 70 and Focus 84: These 44, 70 and 80 cell displays are designed to clip onto the front of the PC keyboard, being narrow, light and powered from the PC power source through the U.S.B. port. (2 U.S.B. and 1 Serial port are provided).

The Braille Cells, with touch cursor above for cursor routing, are positioned next to the qwerty keyboard. Below these, closest to the operator, is a Perkins style keyboard. Navigation is by whiz wheels (which also function as the enter key when pressed), and by unidirectional advance bars. The Perkins keys and 2 unassigned buttons are programmable for navigation and/or to assist in operation of the PC (they are not for text input).

The firmness of the Braille dots can be adjusted to suit individual need.

Handy Tech Modular 80 and 40: The modular 80 is now an older model which allows a number of configuration to be crated out of a set of “modules”. The central unit is either the 80 or 40 8-dot display with cursor routing and function keys. Other modules can be attached e.g. a keyboard, a 16 key function pad, speech output. The modules clip together. The displays are connected via serial port.

PacMate 20 and 40 cell Braille Displays: These two new small light weight portable displays have been developed primarily for use with the PacMate pocket PC (see the Notetaking Factsheet), but can also be used with a desktop or laptop PC. They connect to a PC via the U.S.B. port using the PC’s power supply (they have no batteries). JAWS screen reading software is required to drive the displays. The displays have two set of touch cursors above each cell – one set are conventional cursor routing keys, the second set work in groups and allow panning forward and back, and perform hotkey functions. Both displays have whiz wheels to enable quick movement around the screen.

Other devices with a Braille display that can be used with a PC

There are some purpose designed Notetakers on the market, which have Braille displays, for example the Braille Lite M40, Braille Note B.T. and Braillex Elba 32. These notetakers have Braille keyboards and Braille displays (of varying length) with cursor routing and are designed as portable organisers, having, for example, a diary, calculator, address and notetaking facility.

In addition to working as a stand alone Braille notetaker these devices can be attached to a desktop or portable computer. JAWS or a similar screen reading program on the PC enables the notetakers’ Braille display to read the computer screen, and the notetakers Braille keyboard to be used for keying into the PC in Grade 1 Braille.

There are advantages and disadvantages to using the Braille display on your notetaker as your PC’s Braille display.

Disadvantages are

a) The ergonomics of arranging the Braille Notetaker and the PC keyboard so that they are comfortable to use.
b) The lack of specialist screen reading buttons on the notetaker that a Braille display has.
c) The necessity to use the QWERTY keyboard, as the Braille keyboard cannot emulate every key combination on the QWERTY keyboard. It is not possible to navigate around the PC using the Braille keyboard on the notetaker.

The advantages are

a) Highly portable notetaking facilities available away from the PC, and notetaking facilities available whilst using the display on the PC.
b) Low cost compared to using a dedicated display for the PC and a separate notetaker. Ask the suppliers for a demonstration.

The Type Lite, Braille Note Q.T. and Braille Elba T. are notetakers with Braille Displays, but instead of a Braille Keyboard they have QWERTY keyboards. These notetakers can be attached to a PC enabling the Braille display to be used to read the screen (with the appropriate screen reading software), but the notetakers’ QWERTY keyboard can completely replace the PC keyboards’ functionality.

The BookWorm is a portable Braille reading device of Walkman size with an 8 cell Braille display and weighing 400grams. It is possible to use the Bookworm as a miniature Braille display for your PC.

Braille Keyboards

Braille Notetakers: Braille notetakers (e.g. Braille Lite Millennium and Braille Note BT) can be attached to a desktop computer. The Braille Keyboard on the notetaker can be used to type Grade 1 or Grade 2 Braille into the computer (as described in the previous section). This is particularly effective for word-processing. For full control of the PC, a QWERTY keyboard also needs to be attached (with ergonomic implications).

Braille In: This is a Braille Input keyboard, which connects to either the serial or keyboard ports on a PC. It can mimic every key on a full qwerty keyboard. The Braille In only allows keying in Grade 1 Braille, and its main application therefore is for programmers using terminal emulation programs.

Perkin: Perkin is a circuit board that can be fitted to a Perkins Brailler enabling connection to the serial port of a computer. Braille entered on the Perkins appears as text on the PC screen and can be saved or edited at a later date. The computer cannot be controlled using the Perkins, and the supplier suggests it is most effectively used for students learning Braille or in situations where a tutor, who cannot read Braille, is supervising a Braillist.

Using the PC home keys as a Braille keyboard

Please note there is some concern over the ergonomic implications of using a QWERTY keyboard as a Braille keyboard.

Duxbury Braille Translation for Windows

Using the Duxbury Braille Translation program and a free utility for it called “Perky Duck” it is possible to input or edit text using the home keys and space bar in the same way as the keys on a Perkins Brailler. Full control of the PC is not possible; for example, the Alt and Control keys cannot be emulated.

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