SMART Brailler

SMART Brailler

A new version of the Perkins Brailler, the SMART Brailler, was released in 2011. The SMART Brailler is based on the mechanical action of the classic Perkins Brailler, and, when unpowered, is operable as a standard Brailler. The SMART Brailler includes sensors capturing the mechanical motion of the embosser, and, when powered, adds text-to-speech audio feedback and a digital display for use by both sighted and blind individuals.

Classroom Applications

  • Literacy
    • Completion of written tasks such as story writing, spelling lists, note recording, etc.
  • Numeracy
    • Very useful when working with maths layout - moving between working out with vertical addition, etc.
  • All subjects where writing is required.
  • The SMART Brailler comes into its own when a braille student is working with a sighted adult who is not confident in their knowledge of braille or as a reinforcement tool - the instant feedback given to the user allows for errors to be worked on immediately.
  • The additional feature of a USB port allows the created file to be saved into digital form and then read on a computer or printed for future use as required quickly and easily.

Guides

Below are video guides (two from Perkins School for the Blind) and two created for this website, on how to load and remove the paper in a SMART Brailler, a tour of the physical layout of the brailler and an introduction to the functions of the SMART module.

Also below are two PDF guides - the buttons on the SMART Brailler and how to save to a USB drive.

The manual for the SMART Brailler can also be found as a PDF below.

SMART Brailler - saving to USB.pdf
SMART Brailler - Buttons on module.pdf
smart_brailler_manual.pdf