An Electronic Braille Display (refreshable Braille display) is a tactile device which can be attached to a computer and enables the user to read the contents of the computer screen using Braille.
The Braille displays usually consist of 20, 40 or 80 Braille cells. Each cell has 6 or 8 nylon pins which are electronically controlled to move up and down to display a Braille version of the characters that appear on the computer screen.
Because only 20, 40 or 80 characters from the screen are shown at one time, the displays have buttons or controls on them which enable the user to move the Braille display around the computer screen. To gain full access to programs using a Braille display, a screen reading program which supports the Braille display is also required. There are a number of screen readers on the market which can do this.
Refreshable Braille Displays can also be used with portable and handheld computers. The 20 and 40 cell displays are frequently used with portable computers and are battery as well as mains powered.
Information on Refreshable Braille Displays and compatible screen readers can be downloaded from the Internet (Vision Australia 2007).
Relevant Links
References
Vision Australia 2007, Electronic or Refreshable Braille Displays, Vision Australia, Enfield, viewed 4 November 2007,
<http://www.visionaustralia.org.au/info.aspx?page=1232>.