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News Release

Office of News and Information
Johns Hopkins University
901 South Bond Street, Suite 540
Baltimore, Maryland 21231
Phone: 443-287-9960 | Fax: 443-287-9920

June 19, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Phil Sneiderman
443-287-9960
prs@jhu.edu


Inexpensive Hand-Held Braille Writer Devised by Undergraduates
- Additional Images -
Photos by Will Kirk/Johns Hopkins University

Steven Booth of the National Federation 
of the Blind
PHOTO D: Steven Booth of the National Federation of the Blind, which sponsored the design project, tests the students' prototype of a handheld low-cost Braille writer.

making Braille indentations on paper
PHOTO E: The user depresses buttons to set up the pattern of pins that make Braille indentations on paper.

Braille writer and stylus
PHOTO F: This Braille writer, which can produce up to six indentations in a cell at once, works more quickly than a stylus, which can only make one indentation at a time.

six buttons on Braille writer
PHOTO G: These six buttons can produce Braille dot patterns corresponding to letters, numbers and punctuation marks.

six steel pins
PHOTO H: Six steel pins on the bottom of the writer make the Braille indentations on paper.

Peter Lillehoj, Emily
Kumpel,
Penny Robinson, Mark MacLeod
PHOTO I: At a recent ceremony Johns Hopkins student inventors Peter Lillehoj, Emily Kumpel, Penny Robinson and Mark MacLeod presented their prototype to a representative of the National Federation of the Blind, which sponsored the project.

Emily Kumpel
PHOTO J: Emily Kumpel

Peter Lillehoj
PHOTO K: Peter Lillehoj

Mark MacLeod
PHOTO L: Mark MacLeod

Penny Robinson
PHOTO M: Penny Robinson

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