6dot Braille Labeler

A team of MIT students developed the 6dot Braille Labeler last year, a small and portable Braille label-maker that stands apart from the expensive and heavy Braille label-makers that are currently on the market. The 6dot can be easily used to create a variety of possible Braille characters as well as frequently used contractions, unlike previous labelers that commonly have limited utility. While the device started as a class project, some of the students went on to refine the project and have made steps to form a company to continue developing the 6dot. The labeler is battery-operated and has six buttons—one for each of the dots that make up a Braille character—that are used by placing both hands on top of the device. The 6dot uses standard label tape and, in case the user is a fast typer, has a microcontroller that can store up to 16 characters built-in. The developers plan to make the labeler even easier to use in the future (such as with a second blade to score the end of the label tape for easy peeling) as well as partner with a manufacturer to make the 6dot widely available on the market.