Nina KalininaFeb 2

I'm yet again reminded that accessibility technologies are priced unfairly. Did you know that a pair of hearing aids starts at roughly £500 but an average model can easily cost over £1500? And it's not like it's rocket science.
Similarly, Braille displays start at £1500, but can easily cost over £5000.
Similarly, the most popular and one of the most affordable Braille printers costs almost £3000.

Something can be said about special design requirements for such devices, or about the fact that there is no demand to make them at the scale that would allow to cut the costs ten times. And I can't even say that a high price is an excuse; if you'd try to build a Braille embosser that can operate at practical speeds with decent reliability using off the shelf components, you are likely to spend more money on it than you'd spend getting a commercial solution, even without R&D costs.

So, uh, folks, we can do better. I can't be the only one who keeps thinking about making such technologies cheaper, right?

Show threadalcinnzFeb 2
@nina_kali_nina Regarding Braille... I'm aware of this effort: https://hackaday.io/project/191181-electromechanical-refreshable-braille-module
Electromechanical Refreshable Braille Module

The big drawback to refreshable braille devices has always been their cost. The loose rule of estimation applied to these products has translated into something like $100 to $150 per braille cell. A 40-cell display, in other words, may cost $4,000 to $6,000, while an 80-cell model will cost $8,000 to $12,000. And so it has been that, while desirable, braille computer access has been out of reach for many users of assistive technology. It is thus of great value to lower the cost of individual braille cells in order to manufacture Refreshable Braille Devices at a price that is affordable to the Visually Impared community. While commercially available braille displays use expensive piezo-electric actuated pins. This project employs an electromechanical system with off-the-shelf and easily manufacturable components, leveraging the accessibility of high-quality 3D Printers and micro-magnets to keep the cost low without compromising functionality.

Show threadNina KalininaFeb 2
@alcinnz this cell seems to be based on the same approach as commercial devices, with the potential to cost just as much. No idea where's the catch
Show threadalcinnz
@nina_kali_nina I guess I'm unaware of the commercial approach they are or are not improving upon.
Feb 2 at 3:25pmWeb
Show threadNina KalininaFeb 2
@alcinnz I don't think they need to improve on any commercial approach; it's more like "if the technology is similar to commercial ones, will it be more affordable? If yes, what are the drawbacks?"
But it is definitely one of the most incredible open hardware projects out there.