Visionary Inventions: 13 Bold Designs for the Blind

Ravi Reading Assistant

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blind inventions ravi

The Ravi is a reading assistant device that works like a wand you pass over a sheet of paper or a book vertically. The sensor scans the text and then converts it either into braille textures on the top surface, or audio.

Blind Maps

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blind inventions maps

Fitting onto the bottom of your phone like an extra battery, Blind Maps works with an app to guide users around the city. You use voice to tell your phone where you want to go, and the directions are displayed on the braille-like interface of the device.

Tact Watch

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blind inventions tact watch 2

While many blind people wear watches with glass covers that lift so they can feel what time it is by the position of the hands, this can cause the needles to shift or break. The Tact watch replaces hands with little spheres, a larger one for the hours and a smaller one for the minutes. The word ‘time’ inscribed in braille acts as the first benchmark, orienting the watch face for an accurate reading.

Rubik’s Cube for the Blind

blind inventions rubiks cube

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This concept adapts the classic Rubik’s Cube for the needs of blind people by allowing them to quickly ‘feel’ the colors. The designer stripped an ordinary Rubik’s Cube of its white, orange, red, blue, green and yellow color stickers and replaced them with little braille squares.