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Braille converter – Main page

Braille in the 21th century

Nowadays with the help of Braille it has become possible to print books, magazines, musical notes, ballots, etc. The Qur’an and the Bible were “translated” into Braille for the blind. Even such works as fairy tales of a famous pop singer Madonna are now available for the blind and visually impaired.

Today people with visual impairment can even appreciate the beauty of the space. Thus, the 60-page book of images of outer space made by NASA, called Touch Invisible Sky, contains graphic images adopted for the blind and visually impaired with the help of Braille.

Some products are labeled in Braille. For example, a Japanese company Asahi Breweres which produces beer puts a special label to the top of a jar so that consumers with vision problems can easily find the necessary product. In USA and Canada, the world famous company Starbucks has invented a special card in Braille. On this card, specially for the blind and visually impaired, the name of the network is printed.

For people who have vision problems, it has become possible to travel by plane with comfort. For example, on the boards of Air France some useful information (such as seat numbers, instructions in toilets) is displayed in Braille.

Of course we can’t imagine our today’s world without computer technologies which also use Braille writing system. Nowadays we can find Braille displays, keyboards and printers that allow people make hard copies in Braille.

Among the gadgets that are adapted for the blind, you can find GPS-navigators, digital cameras (for example, the device called Touch Sight, Samsung), calculators, etc. A special phone was created for the visually impaired (called DrawBraille). It consists of two parts: one is designed to output different information in Braille, and the other is divided into sections so that it is more convenient and easier for a person to write characters.

Quite unexpected field of using Braille writing system is the art of tattoo. The point is that while making a tattoo, special implants made of surgical steel, titanium, or medical plastic are sewed under the skin. Therefore, this tattoo is palpable. And if, for example, such tattoo has been put between the thumb and index finger it can be easily «read» while shaking.