World Reading Day ＂Digital Reading＂ Makes Visually Impaired Readers Feel ＂Scholarly＂

    Xinhuanet Chongqing April 23 rd (Chen Yushi Liu Liu Tan Xin) "Although it is just a small dot display, there are thousands of books such as A Dream of Red Mansions and Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which I can touch anytime and anywhere." In Mingyuehu International Intelligent Industry Science and Technology Innovation Base in Liangjiang New District of Chongqing, the blind Li Yong (pseudonym) is enjoying reading time through Braille e-books.

    Braille dot display, audio column, audio reading room … In order to meet the increasing reading needs of visually impaired readers, in recent years, Chongqing has been exploring digital technology to improve the reading experience of the blind. Nowadays, in Chongqing, "digital reading" is helping more visually impaired people to realize barrier-free reading by hearing and touching, and let them feel "scholarly".

A blind man is reading with a braille dot display. Xinhuanet Chen Yushe

   Braille Point Display Portable Braille "Library"

    The developer of Braille Dot Display is a senior student of Chongqing University. In a summer social practice, I found that a Journey to the Center of the Earth, which is read by ordinary people, has only 142 pages, and the price is only tens of yuan, while the Journey to the Center of the Earth, which is made into a braille book, is three thick books, and the price needs several hundred yuan. "At that time, I thought, can you make an e-book so that visually impaired people can read whatever books they want?" Memories. After that, Tan Tan set out to form a team and began to develop the Braille dot display.

    In the early stage of research and development, Tan Tan and his team went to Chongqing Special Education School for investigation, and attended classes with visually impaired children there for many days to understand their thirst for reading and the difficulties they faced.

    Design, production, improvement … With the joint efforts of all members of the team, it took only three months, and the first version of the Braille point indicator was successfully released. This dot display is shaped like a tablet computer without a screen, with rows of Braille characters on it. It can not only read existing Braille e-books, but also transcode a large number of books into Braille through software.

Tell the story of the development of braille dot display. Xinhua Net Fa (photo by Shi Liuliu)

    After the first finished product was made, Tan Lian sent it to the blind couple he knew for trial, and the other party gave comments and suggestions after a period of trial. "Good place is convenient, there are a lot of books to read in the point display, but there are still many details not done. For example, in Braille reading, the distance between the two’ dots’ that make up Braille should be within 2.5mm, so as to achieve the best reading experience, but the distance between the’ dots’ of this dot indicator is 3 mm. " The couple said.

    After getting feedback, Yan and the team’s friends started to iteratively upgrade the products. After more than a year of fighting day and night, in February, 2024, the team finally produced the second brand-new version of the Braille dot display sample. In order to solve the problems of heavy appearance, narrow application scene and high production cost of Braille dot display, this dot display has gone through 9 iterations and 6 user tests.

    "This pointer is very small, and there are many books inside, just like a portable library. When I used to read a paper book in Braille, I touched it for a long time, and the points on the book became more and more blurred. Now I don’t have to worry about this problem anymore. " Blind Li Yong said.

    According to the introduction, this point indicator is expected to be introduced to the market in the second half of 2024. In the future, he hopes it can help more blind people read and see a wider world in books.

A blind man is listening to a book in the visually impaired reading room of Chongqing Library. Xinhua Net Fa (data map)

   Reading with sound feels the "light" of reading with sound.

    In Chongqing Library, Li Wenrong, a blind man, entered the visually impaired reading room along the blind road. After sitting down, she picked up the earphone in front of the computer and began to listen to audio books.

    In order to let blind people swim in the sea of books and share books like ordinary readers, in 2007, Chongqing Library opened a visually impaired reading room. At present, there are more than 17,000 books in Braille and more than 6,100 audio books in Braille in this reading room. "We have equipped this reading room with smart readers, multi-functional digital visual AIDS and other equipment to facilitate visually impaired people to enjoy reading and know the world through voice reading." The person in charge of the reading room said.

    When Liu Wei, a 31-year-old visually impaired person, first came to Chongqing Library, he was deeply attracted by all kinds of advanced barrier-free reading facilities. "I heard that there is a Braille printer in the library, which can print the text materials we need. I want to try it next time." Liu Wei said.

    In addition to Chongqing Library, libraries in many districts and counties in Chongqing have also set up visually impaired reading rooms. In order to make more visually impaired people feel "scholarly", in 2022, Chongqing Disabled Persons’ Federation launched the "Reading with Sound" Internet audio column for disabled people through the "Chongqing Disabled Persons’ Federation" WeChat WeChat official account and the "Himalayan" platform, and has released 5 albums and nearly 80 programs. Disabled anchors can share good articles such as growth inspiration, literary classics and red classics here, and bring every disabled person to a wider world with warm words.

    Yu Fujun, who has a first-class visual disability, runs a massage shop for the blind. "I have always liked reading. Reading can not only let me know the outside world, but also let me apply the medical knowledge I have heard to massage work and improve my skills. " Yu Fujun said that in the future, he wants to listen to more books to make his life more interesting.

    Nowadays, with the popularity of "digital reading" in Chongqing, more visually impaired people like Fu Jun have achieved barrier-free reading. "Digital technology has opened a window for us to make up for our lack of vision and help us integrate into society and enjoy life more freely." Yu Fujun said.