With an aim to provide independent access to digital content for the visually impaired, the Indian Institue of Technology – Delhi has introduced India’s first low-cost Braille laptop. ‘Dotbook’ was developed this month by IIT Delhi’s ASSISTECH
in collaboration with other organisations like Wellcome Trust, Phoenix Solution, Kritikal Solution and Saksham Trust.
Dotbook has two variants, 20 P & 40 Q which cost Rs 40,000 & Rs 60,000 respectively. It has many features. One can browse the internet, send/receive emails, create word documents, insert tables. It took almost six years to create this device.
Refreshable braille displays are commonly used abroad but they aren’t quite popular in India as they are expensive. But a Dotbook is extremely inexpensive compared to any international product that is available. Products with the same features are available abroad but they cost anywhere between Rs 3.5-4 lakh.
In India, there are 8.8 million people who are blind. Dotbook has thus been created to completely reduce the dependency on other devices.
