Eighth Grader of California Builds a Braille Lego Printer
You are never too early to become an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. Ask 13-year-old Shubham Banerjee, and you will discover that he has launched a company to develop a low-cost Braille printer. The idea has been so wildly successful that Intel Corp., the tech giant, has chosen to invest in his startup. Building a Braille printer using a Lego robotics kit for a school science fair project, he asked his parents, “How do blind people read? Google it,” they told him. After doing research online, Shubham was shocked to discover that Braille printers cost at least $2,000. Shubham said he thought the price should not be there and set out to make it simpler.
He calls it the Braigo, a name that combines Lego and Braille. Banerjee won numerous awards and support from the blind community. The new model, Braigo 2.0, translates electronic text into Braille before printing. Braigo Labs aim to have a prototype ready for testing this summer and a printer available on the market later this year. Innovation excites entrepreneurs like us. The world needs more of it. Could a cheaper Braille copier soon be seen on our Kansas City shelves? Time will tell, but we look forward to these promising developments.
