The applications of 3D printing are growing up exponentially by each passing day. Recently, a British company called OwnFone came up with a great innovation to help the blind. This device, called OwnFone Braille is specifically created for the vision impaired, and is the very first Braille phone available to consumers. The 3D printed keypad with its raised texture is very easy and can be used comfortably even by people that can’t read Braille. The, we can print texture and raised text on the phone. Our 3D phone printing process is patent pending.
The phone will be personalized to the owner, by featuring a few Braille buttons, which are pre-programmed to call only the important contacts or the emergency services. The device is further customizable, giving the consumers the option of choosing which names or numbers they would like programmed onto the main screen of the phone. These English names are automatically converted into Braille by the online software. It is even possible to change the colour of the phone or add pictures via the online system. Once these changes are applied, the phone is 3D printed using stereolithography based technology, a popular 3D printing technology. The technology used by OwnFone is currently patent pending.
The braille phone costs just £60, and is currently available in the United Kingdom. The company has plans to launch a Kickstarter campaign shortly, in order to make the phones available internationally. This innovation show how a great technology, if put to a proper use can transform lives of millions of people.
OwnFone
OwnFone, founded in 2012 on the principles of simplicity, ease, and affordability within the mobile phone market, came up with its first product called 1stFone last year. It was primarily targeted towards children ages 9-12 with an option for the parents to keep only the important contacts printed on the phone.