E-Braille

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  Initial button testing

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  Testing with multiple buttons

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  prototype 1: buttons only, wireless communication established

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  Final product!

Inspiration

Commercial Braille communicators can cost thousands of dollars, which inspired our group to make a more cost effective solution.

What it does

E-Braille takes a 6 button braille input from one ESP32, and outputs a character. This character is sent to a second ESP32, which displays the character.

How we built it

We split into two streams, the mechanical stream and the electronics stream. We made a 3D Computer-Aided Design file using Onshape to show how our mechanical components come together. We wired up our electronics using breadboards and coded the ESP32 modules to send messages using Braille with the Arduino IDE.

Challenges we ran into

On the mechanical side, we couldn’t find the right fasteners, so we redesigned the 3D-printed rollers and base with snap-on fits to avoid using fasteners.

On the electrical side, it was difficult to manage all the inputs and get the circuit working. As well, we were using an unfamiliar micro-controller and we had to learn lots along the way.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of coming up with a mechanical design very quickly, only spending about 11 hours from complete scratch to having nicely fitting 3D printed parts.

We are also proud of how our project came together in such a short time: we were able to integrate the mechanical, electrical, and software aspects very smoothly.

What we learned

We learned about MAC addresses, and how to link two ESP32s over wifi. We also learned how to code in arduino and debug electrical systems.

Fara learned how to code in c++

What's next for E-Braille

We are hoping to miniaturize the design for user comfort, and allowing both of the ESP32 modules to both send and receive Braille. We would also hope to combine multiple Braille Units to make a multi-character display.

Built With

• arduinoide