Braille Smartwatch
The world’s first braille smartwatch, developed by a Korean start-up, will make its debut at the upcoming Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2016, the telecom industry’s largest gathering in Barcelona, Spain, that runs from Feb. 22 to 25.
SK Telecom, the nation’s largest telecom operator, announced on Feb. 16 that Dot Inc., one of several venture firms that SK Telecom has supported under its start-up accelerator program “Bravo! Restart”, will unveil the world’s first braille smartwatch at the MWC 2016. This is the first time that the final product will be unveiled to the public.
Through its start-up accelerator program “Bravo! Restart”, SK Telecom provided Dot with planning and consulting services, development funds and office space for a year so that the start-up can complete the product. The company will also introduce Dot as a leading creative economy company in its exhibition hall at the MWC 2016, offering full support.
The braille smartwatch is the world’s first wearable device for the visually challenged that has 30 braille dots on the watch face. The device transcribes text messages into braille by transforming dots in the smartwatch.
The existing text-to-speech (TTS) services have some privacy issues for blind people to use smartphones in public places. However, the new device is considered an innovative idea since it allows the visually challenged to check texts with their fingers.