It is an invention that makes the lives of visually impaired and blind people a lot easier. The Hable One is a simple wireless device that allows you to enter texts in Braille on your smartphone. It was developed by students from Eindhoven University of Technology and they won a prize with it this week: the Braillepluim. The device is a solution for blind Wout Boudry (17) from Valkenswaard. “This really helps me, especially when typing longer messages.”
Just send a message via WhatsApp, post a comment on Facebook, make a post on Instagram or quickly type an email. For people who can see normally, it is done quickly.
This is different for the blind and partially sighted, because you operate a smartphone through an interaction between your hands and eyes. There are solutions such as connecting a full-fledged keyboard, dictating texts or using the blind mode that tells you exactly what you type and point to on your mobile.
“I can type much faster and more accurately.”
The Hable One is a big step forward. The box is the same size as a smartphone, but slightly thicker and contains eight buttons. It looks a bit like the controller of a game console. “It is a small, handy device that allows me to type messages much faster and more accurately,” Wout explains. He has been blind all his life and now swears by the Hable One.
The device ensures that blind and partially sighted people hardly have to use their touchscreen anymore. With the Hable One you can operate almost the entire phone without having to swipe or tap the phone screen. Because you can also navigate between apps with it.
“An honor because only large organizations have received this prize.”
Freek van Welsenis is one of the developers of the device and he is very happy with the Braillepluim. “Super cool and an honor, because so far only KLM and the municipality of The Hague have received the prize. These are large organizations. We are just a small startup.” The Hable One has only been around for a year and a half.
Ayushman Talwar from India invented the device because his grandfather became visually impaired and could no longer call him himself because he could not operate the smartphone. Talwar went to study at the TU in Eindhoven and made the Hable One there together with Van Welsenis. One of the first users was the blind world star Stevie Wonder.
“You can learn Braille quickly with it.”
What can be a challenge is that you have to master the Braille script. But a small proportion of blind and partially sighted people can do that. According to Van Welsenis, this does not have to be a problem. “Precisely because our device is so simple, they can quickly get started with it and they can also learn Braille quickly.”
The Hable’s cost 250 euros each. About five thousand copies have now been sold. “We can use the feedback from our users to improve the software and send updates,” says the developer.
“Such a device is very important to be able to participate in society.”
For blind and partially sighted people, the smartphone is just as indispensable as people who can see well, Wout explains. “Everyone has one and communicates with it, you have access to the whole world. So such an inconspicuous device that is also very compact is very important for participating in society.”
