The digital revolution has placed a wealth of electronic information literally at the touch of a button to the average individual. Unfortunately blind people have been left behind by the revolution due to the lack of efficient, low-cost display systems. Existing commercial Braille displays utilize piezoelectric actuators to deploy mechanical pins which form Braille text. In order to reduce the cost of Braille Displays a fresh approach is necessary .Orbital Research has developed a pneumatically actuated Braille Display concept that utilizes low-cost, small, and efficient MEMS microvalves. The microvalves control air pressure delivered to each Braille dot to control deployment. Orbital Research has developed and tested prototypes of these displays validating the approach using two-way MEMS valves. However, based on feedback from blind people, the Braille displays had inherent drawbacks, including a slow refresh rate and soft tactile feel. To overcome these drawbacks this proposed program will design, fabricate and test a three-way MEMS microvalve that will be integrated into actuator arrays, which will be packaged using automated techniques into modules that can be joined together to form either low-cost entry-Ievel or larger multi-line Braille display systems.
