Refreshable Braille Display: A Review of Existing Technologies and a Proposed Method

The world is currently undergoing the fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), in which information plays a crucial role in everyday life. However, those with visual impairments are unable to access information by visual means. Approximately 237 million individuals worldwide suffer from vision impairment. The Refreshable Braille Display (RBD) is considered the most advanced and significant instructional tool for the visually impaired (VI), garnering interest from scientists and researchers worldwide. There are numerous technologies available to actuate the RBD. A comprehensive and meticulous examination of the existing technologies is necessary to make the proper choice of actuating technology in relevant applications. This paper aims to categorize the published articles based on the different types of actuation technologies that exist, and to examine each technology in terms of its benefits, drawbacks, and technical and economic parameters such as cost, power consumption, frequency, durability, etc. The analysis demonstrated that the electromagnetic actuation method is the most suitable approach from both an economic and technical standpoint. The authors proposed a RBD that utilizes the electromagnetic actuation approach. This method involves the use of a permanent magnet, electromagnet, and a cam in each braille pin. The proposed method is anticipated to fulfill all the necessary criteria and specifications of a braille display. The authors have already finished creating the computer-aided design (CAD) model of the proposed approach.