In Countries and commmunties all over the world ,young invertors are doing remarkable things to make a world better for every child
The California eighth-grader has launched a company to develop low-cost machines to print Braille, the tactile writing system for the visually impaired. Tech giant Intel Corp recently invested in his startup, Braigo Labs.
Shubham built a Braille printer with a Lego robotics kit as a school science fair project last year after he asked his parents a simple question: How do blind people read? "Google it," they told him.
Shubham then did some online research and was shocked to learn that Braille printers, also called embossers, cost at least $2,000 — too expensive for most blind readers, especially in developing countries.
Without disclosing details, Banerjee said he is currently working on a "pretty cool" new idea for a product which will again be useful for the visually impaired.
"This Braille printer is a great way for people around the world who really don't have many resources at all to learn Braille and to use it practically," said Henry Wedler, who is blind and working on a doctorate in chemistry at the University of California, Davis. Wedler has become an adviser to Braigo Labs.
An affordable printer would allow the visually impaired readers to print out letters, household labels, shopping lists and short reading materials on paper in Braille, said Lisamaria Martinez, community services director at the San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind, a non-profit center that serves the visually impaired and prints Braille materials for public agencies.
After the “Braigo” a name that combines Braille and Lego won numerous awards and enthusiastic support from the blind community, Mr. Shubham started Braigo Labs with an initial $35,000 investment from his father.
Shubham Banerjee is a 13-year-old boy. He was born in Hasselt, Belgium. The family moved to San Jose, California when he was 3 years old.. He lives in Santa Clara, California with his parents and younger sister.
The California eighth-grader has launched a company to develop low-cost machines to print Braille, the tactile writing system for the visually impaired. Tech giant Intel Corp recently invested in his startup, Braigo Labs.
Shubham built a Braille printer with a Lego robotics kit as a school science fair project last year after he asked his parents a simple question: How do blind people read? "Google it," they told him.
Without disclosing details, Banerjee said he is currently working on a "pretty cool" new idea for a product which will again be useful for the visually impaired.
"This Braille printer is a great way for people around the world who really don't have many resources at all to learn Braille and to use it practically," said Henry Wedler, who is blind and working on a doctorate in chemistry at the University of California, Davis. Wedler has become an adviser to Braigo Labs.
An affordable printer would allow the visually impaired readers to print out letters, household labels, shopping lists and short reading materials on paper in Braille, said Lisamaria Martinez, community services director at the San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind, a non-profit center that serves the visually impaired and prints Braille materials for public agencies.
After the “Braigo” a name that combines Braille and Lego won numerous awards and enthusiastic support from the blind community, Mr. Shubham started Braigo Labs with an initial $35,000 investment from his father.
“We as parents started to get involved more, thinking that he’s on to something and this innovation process has to continue,” said his father, Niloy Banerjee.
Mr. Shubham used the money to build a more sophisticated version of his Lego-based printer using an off-the-shelf desktop printer and a newly-released Intel computer chip. The new model, Braigo 2.0, can translate electronic text into Braille before printing.
Intel executives were so impressed with Mr. Shubham’s printer that in November they invested an undisclosed sum in his start-up.
“He’s solving a real problem, and he wants to go off and disrupt an existing industry. And that’s really what it’s all about,” said Edward Ross, director of Inventor Platforms at Intel.
“This Braille printer is a great way for people around the world who really don’t have many resources at all to learn Braille and to use it practically,” said Henry Wedler, who is visually impaired and has become an adviser to Braigo Labs.
Mr. Shubham is too young to be CEO of his own company, so his mother has taken the job, though she admits she wasn’t too supportive when he started the project.
“I’m really proud of Shubham. What he has thought, I think most adults should have thought about it,” Malini Banerjee said. “And coming out of my 13-year-old, I do feel very proud.”
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