US engineering students develop braille-printing machine for beer labels

Mechanical engineering students at Johns Hopkins University, US, have delivered a braille printer to Blind Industries & Services of Maryland (BISM). The printer adds braille text to beer labels and other materials such as card stock and glossy mailers.

BISM is Maryland’s largest employer of blind and low-visioned workers. The braille printer, completed this spring semester, features open hardware for easy operation and maintenance. It is designed for operators with no or low vision.

Catherine Pollard, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering and project team member, says: “You can reach your hand in and feel everything going on inside our printer. Having open hardware that allows people to touch all the components was important.”

“We really took into consideration who would be operating the machine and how they were going to use it. With engineering, it can be easy to move forward with the first idea that works on paper or go with a design that uses the most cost-effective materials and call it a day. But that really wasn’t an option here. For this to be a functional product, the user experience is paramount.”

Accessibility innovation

The mechanical engineering students created “easy-to-update software” that allows their printer to communicate with the braille word processor and design software.

Previously, BISM employees manually pressed each braille label, which is over 1,000 each year. The new printer aims to reduce labor and increase production capacity. The new printer has reportedly already produced 400 braille labels for Blind Spot, a honey Kölsch beer from Checkerspot Brewing Company in collaboration with BISM for an annual fundraiser for people with vision loss. 

Gabriella Hu, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering, says: “Seeing how much adaptive technology BISM has already incorporated into their lives was inspiring, and it helped us understand how our product could slot into their day-to-day work.”

“We were grateful to have BISM as a project sponsor. They gave us user feedback from the people who are most interested in the machine and worked closely with us every step of the way.”

Earlier this year, a researcher from the University of Rhode Island, US, developed 3D-printed braille tags for clothing.