Research Projects

With approximately 36 million blind individuals worldwide, India alone accounts for 4.95 million blind and 70 million vision-impaired individuals, including at least 200,000 blind children. Braille displays serve as crucial assistive technology to enable inclusive education for the visually impaired, providing electronically controllable tactile interfaces that allow users to read digital text through dynamically actuated Braille dots. However, majority of the Braille display manufacturing is based outside India and the traditional electronic Braille devices suffer from rigid and complex mechanical structures that hinder their portability, increase production cost, and reduce control stability. The intricate designs, particularly in the Braille dots modules, pose challenges for widespread use and are prone to reduced durability under high-frequency operation. These limitations highlight an urgent need for affordable, and portable Braille displays. Thus, it becomes paramount to carry research in the direction of replacing the numerous mechanical components with a smart soft and flexible matrix capable of actuating under the action of an external stimulus to mimic the Braille bumps. Although researchers have utilized single liquid crystal elastomer layer embedded with actuating Braille bumps. However, a very high temperature ~ 260 °C is required for thermal actuation limiting its applicability in a refreshable Braille display. Thus, it is important to find a more user-friendly actuation medium for a smart flexible Braille display. This project aims to work in the direction of inclusive education by developing and 4D printing a magnetically actuable smart magnetorheological elastomeric material for developing a dynamic braille display for a cost-effective education kit. The primary objective of the project will be to develop a 3D printable smart magnetorheological elastomeric (MRE) material system consisting of a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) matrix embedded with neodymium based magnetic filler powder such NdFeB based on rheological, morphological, microstructural, and functional investigations. Investigations will be performed to evaluate the magnetic acuation performance of the developed MRE components with oriented and non-oriented filler material. The developed smart MRE material system will be used to 4D print a Braille display using direct ink writing (DIW) and fused granulate fabrication (FGF) based additive manufacturing routes. A functional prototype will be developed by integrating the 4D printed display with electromagnets for achieving localized magnetic actuation to mimic the Braille bumps. Finally, complete life cycle assessment of the developed smart Braille display will be carried out. The developed smart MRE Braille display would significantly reduce mechanical complexity, enhance reliability, decrease weight, and introduce flexibility and softness to the device in contrast to conventional Braille displays available in the market.