Braille Device Translates Computer Files Quickly From: R&D Magazine - September, 2001 - page 45 A rotating wheel to help blind and visually impaired persons read text-based files on a computer or portable device using the Braille code has been developed by a team from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, Md. Under the direction of John Roberts, the group designed a rotating-wheel display with characters on the wheel rim. This arrangement moves text past the user’s fingers. Instead of hundreds of actuators, the NIST design incorporates three solenoids to set the patterns of dots just before they rotate into the reading area. With the NIST Rotating-wheel Braille display, the Braille dots are formed by the rounded tips of pins that move in and out through holes in the wheel. The heads of the pins ride around the wheel in one to two positions, retaining the pattern of Braille text across the reading area. Intended for low-cost Braille displays, for connection to desktop computers, and for general computer work, this technology is relatively inexpensive, compact, portable, and simple to manufacture. It is expected to make information of all kinds more accessible for the blind and visually impaired. http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/gallery/braille.htm http://www.itl.nist.gov/div895/braillelinks.html http://www.itl.nist.gov/div895/isis/projects/brailleproject.html http://www.rdmag.com/features/0109100cons.asp