VISVESVARAYA TECHNOLOGICAL

UNIVERSITY
Jnana Sangama, Belagavi-590018

A PROJECT SYNOPSIS ON
‘‘Low-Cost Printer Head for Embossing Braille Dots on Paper”

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING IN COMPUTER

Submitted By
SHIVAM THAKUR(3BK21CS049)
SAMIRUDDIN SHAIKH (3BK21CS047)

PROJECT GUIDE
Prof. SUVARNALATA HIREMATH

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

ABSTRACT
This paper presents the design, implementation, and prototype of a low-cost Braille embossing
mechanism. The proposal is a printer head integrating three hammers that, upon actuation, stamp readable
dots on the paper. Inspired in the rotary cam-follower mechanism, the hammers are actuated by a single
servomotor which rotation determines which hammer strikes the paper. Braille characters can be quickly
embossed using the proposed printer head. Affordable and efficient Braille embossers for home use can be
envisaged using this new action approach.
The proposed printer head employs a simplified electromechanical design, utilizing solenoid-driven
embossing pins to create precise, raised dots conforming to Braille standards. By leveraging cost-effective
materials and modular components, the design minimizes manufacturing and maintenance expenses while
maintaining high durability and accuracy.
Key innovations include optimized pin alignment for uniform dot height, a lightweight structure to reduce
power consumption, and compatibility with widely available printer mechanisms. Performance tests
demonstrate that the device achieves consistent dot quality across a range of paper types, ensuring
legibility and durability of the embossed text.
 INTRODUCTION

Visually impaired people face countless difficulties in their daily lives. This is especially true for
activities such as environment understanding, urban mobility, reading, computer access, object finding,
among others
In particular, to address the reading and computer access challenges, three solutions have been explored
so far with the aim of improving digital text accessibility: screen magnifiers, voice synthesizers, and
Braille terminals. Screen magnifiers perform screen magnification for those who still have some degree
of remnant vision . Voice synthesizers literally read the text displayed on the computer screen , and
Braille terminals display the text on the screen in Braille code .
Audio books are perhaps the simplest and fastest way to convey text to visual impaired people. Entire print
books are recorded while being read out loud. They can be reproduced by standard music players such as
desktop component systems or wearable headsets.
Audio books are considered a simple, inexpensive, and non-Braille reading alternative for visually impaired
people. Since they first became available in 1950, they have been considered a valuable tool for this
population. Nowadays, a significant number of titles are available and are accessible via Internet for
example, from the NLS.

Even though the attractive advantages they offer, two issues have still to be considered :

Availability. Not all print books are systematically produced in audible version. Moreover, there is a
significant delay for new books that editorials do plan to release in audio version. Having new books in
audio form could take a significant amount of time.

Audiobooks cannot be considered substitutional to print books. It is true that they fit perfectly the needs
of the elderly and non-Braille visually impaired readers. However, as normally sighted prefer to read a
printed book instead of listening to it, there is no reason to directly assume otherwise for the visually
impaired. Reading heightens the self-esteem, the intellectual activity, and the independence of visually
impaired people. Moreover, it increases their literacy and trains their orthography, which is generally quite
bad.
 BRAILLE AND BRAILLE DISPLAY

Thousands of visually impaired people worldwide use Braille in their native languages as an effective way
of reading, writing, and learning [8,9]. The Braille system, which was created by Louis Braille in 1852, is a
system of raised dots, which form letters that can be read with the fingertips. Braille is not a language, rather
it is a coding system, which can be used to read and write in many languages such as English, Spanish,
French, etc.
In Braille, single text characters are normally represented by six-pin cells. Sixty-four combinations are
formed from raising the pins at any of the six positions. In practice, some pin combinations are omitted as
they feel the same and are complex to discriminate tactually. Letters, symbols, and words are conveyed to
readers from pin combinations. Eight-dot Braille cells can also be found. They are often used to shorten
symbols represented by two cells (for example, upper case characters). Figure 2 shows the main
specifications of six-dot Braille cells defining the height of dots and the important distances between dots,
cells, and lines.
Braille printing is another way for displaying Braille characters. Unlike tactile electronic interfaces, this
method consists on embossing dots permanently on paper.

Figure 1: Pictorial representation of a small desktop Braille printer concept.

Figure shows the conceptual representation of a Braille embosser. Just as traditional ink printers, paper
displacement is to be carried out by one step motor and guide rollers. A second step motor moves
horizontally the printer head.

targets a device of compact dimensions (73 x 39.5 x 39 mm) fully complying with Braille standards. Three
hammers strike sequentially the paper to stamp Braille dots of 0.8 mm height. Braille embossing is done
column by column, so a Braille character requires three sequences: one hammer strike, then printer head
displacement, and finally another hammer strike.

Figure 4 shows the structure and main components of the printer head. Note that rotational motion is
transferred from a servomotor to a shaft via a gear train. The shaft encompasses three cam-followers
circumferentially arranged at 120º. The rotation of the servomotor determines which cam-follower is
actuated. Feedback on the shaft’s angular position is ensured by two optical encoders.
Above figure shows the structure and main components of the printer head. Note that rotational motion is
transferred from a servomotor to a shaft via a gear train. The shaft encompasses three cam-followers
circumferentially arranged at 120º. The rotation of the servomotor determines which cam-follower is
actuated. Feedback on the shaft’s angular position is ensured by two optical encoders.
 IMPLEMENTATION

For the implementation of the concept, we selected a commercially available low-cost miniature
servomotor from
Power HD [27], which provides a 3.5 kg-cm torque that ensures that hammers will develop the necessary
impact force to emboss the Braille dots on paper. This servomotor offers a speed of 1.5 rad/s, which is
appropriate for the application. Its dimensions and mass meet the requirements for the development of a
compact printer head.

The gear train and the three cam-follower mechanisms were fast prototyped using thermoplastic material. A
second stage envisages its manufacturing using metal. All parts were integrated in an ABS enclosure of
compact dimensions just as envisaged conceptually in Figure 3 inset.
 Braille Translator

Text to Braille translation can be performed in two grades. Grade 1 Braille is the basic translation in
which each printed character is substituted by its Braille equivalent. Grade 2 Braille or contracted
Braille is the advanced mode in which words are shortened to fit a single cell. There are 189
contractions of the most commonly used words. Grade 2 Braille follows a complex system of rules
and translation can be done properly only by a human [28]. We have developed a computer-based
Braille translator tool capable of converting text files into Braille using Grade 1 Braille. Such tool
basically consists of a lookup table in which letters are simply associated to their equivalent in Braille
 Hardware

Figure 13 details the components of the hardware module. Inside the printer, an electronic module
encompasses a microcontroller, which processes the Braille vectors generating a buffer to control the printer
head’s hammers. Communication between the printer head and the microcontroller is bidirectional because
it is necessary to know with accuracy the shaft’s position to actuate the cam- follower mechanisms.

Figure :Block diagram of the Braille embosser hardware.

Developing new Assistive Technologies is important for improving the quality of life of visually impaired
people. In this paper, we focused our efforts in actuators that can be used for improving digital text
document accessibility. In particular, we overviewed the design and implementation of a novel printer head
device capable of embossing Braille dots on paper.

Based on the traditional cam-follower mechanism concept and off-the-shelf servomotors, such device
consists of three hammers that sequentially strike the paper to stamp Braille characters. The concept is
simple, compact, noiseless, low-cost, easy to maintain/repair and is the base for the development of an
inexpensive Braille embosser prototype intended for home use.