Monday 14 January 2019 5:38 pm | Updated: Monday 03 June 2019 2:13 am

Company reveals a Braille e-reader to improve access to books for blind people

A British company is set to launch an e-reader for blind people with the aim of making digital Braille books a practical alternative to their bulky print counterparts.

Bristol Braille Technology spent six years developing the Canute 360, which it hopes will make Braille e-books “affordable, practical and enjoyable”.

The new e-reader can display up to nine lines of raised Braille dots simultaneously, the company said, a major step forward on existing devices that display only a single line.

The firm showcased the desktop device, which weighs 2.8kg and is expected to go on sale later this year, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last week.

The device will be "about the price of an expensive laptop", said Stephanie Sergeant of Vision Through Sound, a company providing technology training to blind people and which worked with the developers of the e-reader.

"Eighty per cent of blind people who work are Braillists but the reason that the use of Braille use has fallen is because of the cost," she added. "We are trying to make sure the cost of the Canute is as low as possible."

The technology has been welcomed by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), a leading sight loss charity.

"All too often we hear that Braille is on the decline, and people are being discouraged from learning it," said Claire Maxwell, senior product developer for Braille at RNIB. "We are committed to reversing this trend, and welcome new Braille technology devices to the market, which can support people in developing their braille literacy skills."

While sight loss is most prevalent among the elderly, RNIB says that there are more than 25,000 visually impaired children in the UK aged 16 or under.

The new e-reader may deliver advantages to blind and partially sighted people, many of whom currently rely heavily on audio description.

"Through listening alone it is not possible to pick up on the nuances of language, such as spelling and grammar,” said Maxwell. “Braille in conjunction with screen readers can develop and improve literacy, which in turn opens up education and employment opportunities for people with sight loss."

The estimated cost of adult sight loss to the UK economy, including costs associated with reduced health and wellbeing, was £28.1 billion in 2013, according to research by Deloitte.

About 360,000 people are registered blind or partially sighted in the UK, according to RNIB. However, not all blind or partially sighted people are registered.