World's first Braille smartphone in development

Indian engineer Sumit Dagar is creating the world's first smartphone for the blind.

Dagar (center) has described his creation as "a companion more than a phone."

The engineer is driven by a desire to use technology to improve the lives of disadvantaged members of society and, he says, to help them participate in it more fully.

Dagar is seen here testing a prototype interface with a visually impaired volunteer.

Dagar's first working prototype of the Braille smartphone was little more than an exposed circuit board with moveable pins.

For this design, Dagar was selected as a 2012 Laureate in the Rolex Awards for Enterprise.

A mass-market version of the phone will have a screen which is composed of a grid of pins.

The pins move up and down to form Braille shapes when the phone receives a text or email.

The smartphone design incorporates "Shape Memory Alloy" technology, based on the concept that metals remember their original shapes, expanding and then contracting after use.

The technology can convey a range of information to the visually impaired. In this example, the shape of a map is being created.

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Turning email to e-Braille

Turning email to e-Braille

Turning email to e-Braille

Turning email to e-Braille

Turning email to e-Braille

Turning email to e-Braille

Turning email to e-Braille

Turning email to e-Braille

Turning email to e-Braille

Turning email to e-Braille

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(CNN) -- For all of their advantages, smartphones still fall a little short for some — specifically, for those living with visual impairment.

While apps like Siri and SayText do offer a good deal of assistance, 2011 TED Fellow Sumit Dagar had an idea for a more effective solution: a smartphone that's specifically designed for people who have trouble seeing.

Read: The world's tiniest fisheye camera

The phone, which has yet to be officially named, has a screen comprised of a grid of pins, which move up and down to form into Braille shapes and characters whenever an SMS message or email is received. It uses what's called Shape Memory Alloy technology, so as each pin expands, it remembers and contracts back to its original flat shape.

In an interview with the Times of India, Dagar describes the phone as "[the] world's first Braille smartphone ... a companion more than a phone."

Dagar, an interaction design graduate of the National Institute of Design (NID), came up with the idea for the phone three years ago. He's collaborating with IIT Delhi on the prototype, which is being tested at the LV Prasad Eye Institute. The team hopes to release the phone by the end of 2013, for a about $185.

You can catch Dagar's TED Talk from 2011 here.

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