Braigo
Braigo version 1.0 uses a Lego Mindstorms EV3 kit,[1] which includes a microprocessor with assorted components such as electric motors, sensors and actuators.
The cost was said to be about US$350[3] or 250 Euros for the Lego Mindstorms EV3 kit and some extra commonly used hardware whereas a conventional Braille printer retails starting from about $1,900.
In Banerjee's own words, taken from the abstract submitted at Synopsys Science Fair:[9] The challenges with assistive technologies currently available are either too expensive or difficult to obtain for normal people without government or non-profit sponsorships.
To give access to easily assemble and build a braille printer for the masses, the basic ability of DO-IT-YOURSELF (D-I-Y) is key.
Engineering as a discipline is the application of scientific, economic, social, and practical knowledge in order to design, build, maintain, and improve structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes.
After studying the Braille language; I understood that a visually impaired individual feels through his/her fingers the bumps on a paper through a combination of 6 dots.
I achieved a 82% reduction in cost and have been overwlemed by the encouraging feedback from both the sighted and the blind equally!Braigo v1.0 made Open Source As announced in a CNN[2] and other interviews, Banerjee has decided to give away the design and software for free.
Braigo 2.0 promises to be the world's first, relatively inexpensive, silent, IOT enabled, light weight, consumer oriented, braille printer or embosser.
Braigo 2.0 reportedly contains new patent pending technology in addition to Intel's Edison Chip paired with a development board.
[17] After Braigo v1.0, the natural progression for Banerjee, after feedback from the visually impaired community, was to make a real consumer version that could eventually be bought off-the-shelf.
The technology involves uploading any document from a computer into the memory of the Intel's Edison chip that's the brain of the Braigo Braille printer.
On February 21, 2014, CNN International in their program Quest Means Business, hosted by Maggie Lake, aired an interview with Banerjee about Braigo titled "Boy Genius makes Braille printer from Lego".
)"[52] San Jose Mercury News reported on their front page on November 4, 2014, newspaper "And on Tuesday, Intel Capital, the company's global investment arm, will announce it has invested in the teenager's company, making Shubham the world's youngest tech entrepreneur to receive venture capital funding.
The fun part is meeting people like Shubham Banerjee who are passionate about pursuing their dreams and feeling comfortable that this is a risky business.
The venture-capital firm recently announced an investment deal with Banerjee's company, Braigo Labs, that one source estimates is worth several hundred thousand dollars.
"[55] Shubham Banerjee was invited by Microsoft for their Student Tech Fair on May 13, 2015, in New York City to display his work with Braigo.
