NOVELTY IDEA

Standing by the Visually Impaired

An alternative orthography for the vision-impaired, Braille, is a form of written language consisting of raised dots on a surface, in patterns that resemble letters, numbers, and designs (for paintings/artwork). Braille came on papers during the early 1800s by a Frenchman called Valentin Hauy; and was an effective way for visually-impaired people to read. The language, now universally accepted, originally came from the mind of Louis Braille who lost his eyes at the age of three. Young Braille was self-motivated, and went on to study at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth (One of the first institutes for blind children, now known as the National Institute for Blind Youth). During his studentship there, he started developing a tactile coding method which soon emerged as a globally acknowledged form of writing and reading for the vision impaired. Akij’s Braille tiles In collaboration with CarrotComm Ltd. Akij launched their Braille tiles on International Mother Language day 2022, to help over 800,000 existing and recorded blind populace of the country. The Tiles, just like the Japanese ones, will have Braille messages to help those who are visually impaired. The 2022 collaborated campaign was called “Let the walls be Language friendly”. “Language should not be a luxury but a fundamental right for everyone” – Akij Ceramics. Here’s how it works One to six dots arranged in each pattern, forming one of 63 characters, felt by the fingertips or soles. We now have Braille for a lot of things such as money, books, novels, and TILES as well. That brings us to: Braille pavements – It came about in 1967 by the hands of the Japanese; first used as flooring for a street in Okayama. The flooring now, is widely encouraged to be used as directions and warnings/Hazard signs for blind people. The campaign intended to promote the use of Braille tiles to help blind people navigate properly. With a steadfast aim to create an all-inclusive society, Akij’s Braille tiles have now been on the market for over a year. Akij uses modern SACMI technology in an attempt to mass produce perfects. The company brought in machineries from Italy and Spain, all dedicated to manufacturing a high volume of Braille tiles if need be. Upon asking about the most common messages that are imprinted on tiles, Mohammed Khourshed Alam, Director (Operations) of Akij Bashir Group, stated that navigation signs in bus-train stations, markets, educational institutes, etc. are most commonly used forms of Braille tiles. “In terms of sales, the company is focused on the number of people helped rather than the number of units sold.” Braille messages on tiles can be customised to any typefurther adding to the usefulness and versatility of it. Mr. Khourshed Alam believes that if every organisation actively participates by installing Braille tiles, the world for the visually impaired would ease. He also hopes to foster a diverse and inclusive society.   Akij collaborated with CarrotComm Ltd. to install Braille tiles at the Icon Eye Hospital Ltd. Akij did this free of cost for Icon Hospital, and spent around Tk 10 lakh in the project.Accolades Best Brand Award from Bangladesh Brand Forum, 2019-22. Most Innovative Solution For Disabled People from the 5th Bangladesh Innovation Award. Written by Chisty Rahim