I’m building Tactis, a low-cost, refreshable braille interface designed to make digital information accessible without the $2k–$5k price barrier of existing displays.

Problem:

Braille displays are expensive, fragile, and limited in capability.

Screen readers alone don’t work for literacy, math, or structured technical content.

Most visually impaired users are forced into audio-only workflows.

What this is:

A compact refreshable braille surface for reading and input.

Integrated voice → text and text → voice for hybrid interaction.

Designed from the ground up for affordability, repairability, and scale.

Hardware-first approach, not a tablet accessory or locked ecosystem.

What’s different:

Focus on cost reduction at the actuator/mechanism level.

Modular design so the same platform can support education, navigation, and productivity use cases.

Built with the assumption that braille literacy still matters.

Status:

Early prototype stage.

Validated problem through user interviews and assistive-tech orgs.

Currently refining the braille actuation mechanism and system architecture.

I’m sharing this to get:

Technical feedback on low-cost refreshable braille mechanisms.

Input from anyone who has built hardware for accessibility.

Reality checks from visually impaired users or educators.

Site: https://braillepadpro.web.app/

This is not polished, not finished, and not a pitch deck. It’s a real problem that needs better engineering.