A 13 year-old American boy is thought to be one of the youngest inventors ever to receive funding for an invention.  Computing giant Intel has invested in further development of Shubham Banerjee’s Braille printer, which receives electronic text messages, translates them into Braille and then prints the Braille message by embossing it onto paper.

Printer Build from Lego

Shubham’s original printer was built from a Mindstorms robotic kit Lego, and used a paper-feed system similar to a till roll to give the printer enough space to print the Braille characters.  He came up with the idea after reading about the Braille system and wondering how communications could be made more easily read by blind or visually impaired people.

He discovered that there are Braille printers on the market already, but they are expensive – often over £1,000 – and are heavy.  Shubham wanted to create a printer that was lighter, more affordable and easy to use, particularly so that it could be used by people with sight problems in developing parts of the world.

Now, with Intel’s backing, Shubham and a team of people are working on developing a prototype product.  Shubham wants to keep the price at around £200, making Braille printers more affordable and more accessible to the people who need them.

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