The Monarch could be the next big thing in Braille #AssistiveTechnology
For folks that rely on braille to read there are are surprisingly few electronic options. This device called the Monarch is like a braile e-reader. The Monarch is [relatively] compact and easy to use with much more space for words than comparable devices.
The Monarch is a collaboration between HumanWare and the American Printing House for the Blind. APH is an advocacy, education, and development organization focused on the needs of visually impaired people, and this won’t be their first braille device — but it is definitely the most capable by far.
These days one of the biggest holdups in the braille reading community is length and complexity of the publishing process. A new book, particularly a long textbook, may need weeks or months after being published for sighted readers before it is available in braille — if it is made available at all. And of course once it is printed, it is many times the size or the original, because braille has a lower information density than ordinary type.
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