Crossing the Lines: The Power and Promise of Multiline Braille Technology

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VOICEOVER: Crossing the Lines: The Power and Promise of Multiline Braille Technology. Speakers: Greg Stilson, Vice President of Digital Transformation, The American Printing House for the Blind (APH). Louis-Philippe Massé, Vice President of Product Innovation and Marketing, HumanWare. Ki Kwang Sung, Co-Founder, DOT. Moderator: Dave Williams, Customer Experience Manager, DOT; Chair, Braillists Foundation.

DAVE WILLIAMS: Hello, and a very warm welcome to Sight Tech Global 2025, the premier event exploring how cutting-edge technology is reshaping the future for blind and low-vision people. I’m Dave Williams, chair of the Braillists Foundation, and it’s my pleasure to guide today’s conversation on multiline braille technology, a hot topic that’s rapidly transforming access to tactile literacy, information, and digital inclusion.

So, without any further ado, let’s begin by briefly introducing our panelists, an international panel. I’m gonna come to each of you and have you tell us your full name, your role, and what’s exciting you most about the development of multiline braille technology. Let’s start with you, Greg.

GREG STILSON: Uh, thanks so much, Dave. I’m Greg Stilson. I’m coming to you from Madison, Wisconsin here in the United States. I’m the vice president of digital transformation at The American Printing House for the Blind. Uh, I’m a blind person myself. What excites me about multiline braille is that it’s giving us a platform to get braille text in the hands of, uh, users exponentially faster than we’ve ever been able to do in the past. So, uh, reducing what I call sort of the time to fingertips. I’m really excited about that.

DAVE WILLIAMS: Okay. Uh, Louis, let’s come to you.

LOUIS-PHILIPPE MASSÉ: Hi, uh, thanks for inviting me, uh, to Sight Tech Global. I’m, uh, Louis-Philippe Massé. I’m the vice president, uh, at HumanWare. Uh, I’m the vice president of product innovation and marketing. So this is, uh, the R&D team, the product management team, and the marketing team. So, uh, I collaborate with the folks at APH and the folks here at DOT, so it’s a, it’s a pleasure to be amongst the familiar faces.

DAVE WILLIAMS: And last by no means least, Ki.

KI KWANG SUNG: Hello. Um, this is Ki Sung, uh, co-founder at DOT. I’m from South Korea. Um, it’s 6:00 AM right now. (laughs) And, um, yeah, you know, we’ve spent over a decade developing tactile graphic display technology and, uh, that makes digital content accessible through DOT cells, uh, and the tactile graphic display. I’m really, really excited, uh, to be here and talk about multi-line braille display and tactile graphic display.

DAVE WILLIAMS: Thank you very much to all of you. Looking forward to some interesting discussion. Let’s begin then by defining why multiline braille technology is such a disruptive advancement. Uh, Greg, what makes multiline braille such a fundamental shift, uh, you know, that really is transformative compared with single-line braille displays that we’re used to?

GREG STILSON: It’s an exciting time because we’re reading digital braille on a multiline display in the way that we were taught to read braille as blind people, right? So often we’ve chosen single-line displays because it’s given us access to digital braille content quickly, um, when pairing it with, say, our mobile device or with our computer, and we get the content under our fingertips, but we are reading one line at a time, sometimes 20 characters, sometimes 40 characters, depending on what your display supports. But you’re not reading with the technique, uh, that we were originally taught when we were reading braille on paper, right? And that technique is designed to read fluently. It’s designed to read with, uh, the ability to track one’s lines and location, but most importantly when you’re reading multiline braille, it gives you as the blind user, it gives you the ability to actually skim read, and that’s something that I think has been the most impactful for me over the last year or two years in really getting involved in this multiline braille digital braille shift.

It’s restored my ability to skim read or to present, uh, especially as a blind professional presenter. Um, being able to really skim and present on my talking points effectively without having to pan, pan, pan, pan, pan, uh, line after line. Um, I can sort of look for gaps in, uh, in formatting. I can look for indentations. I can look for all those things that I traditionally would do, um, on a physical piece of paper.

DAVE WILLIAMS: Ki, what technical or design breakthroughs have made multiline braille viable and how do you envision this technology evolving?

KI KWANG SUNG: Yeah. Um, that’s great question, Dave. Uh, I think multiline and tactile graphic display technology is all about scalability. So, how to make thousands of braille cells move, like, precisely and slightly and affordably in real time? So, I think our key breakthrough, uh, came with DOT Cell, our electromagnetic-based actuator system. So, I think, uh, it is very scalable and also we can stack the DOT Cell together so that we can make bigger size and similar size and different, all different sizes of the tactile graphic display in multiline. So, I think it dramatically reduced, uh, power consumption and thickness and production costs while increasing durability.

So, um, the innovation made it possible to build a true, truly a portable multiline tactile graphic display, and I think, um, it, not just for text, but also diagram, table, maps, and UI layouts. And we’re also envisioning new possibilities for interactive and adaptive UI and UX where users are not just like reading text and tactile information, but actively engaging with this, with the sensitive touch surface. So I think ultimately, um, you know, our vision is to make touch-sensitive the surface with the DOT Cell so that, uh, the users can interact with the device together, so.

DAVE WILLIAMS: Louis, from your perspective at HumanWare, why is now the right time for multiline braille? What are you hearing from customers?

LOUIS-PHILIPPE MASSÉ: Well, it’s, uh, as, uh, my two colleagues have mentioned, first, there’s a need for it, obviously, and it’s, uh, moving from a single line to an array of braille cells opens up not just reading, but the possibility of seeing graphics and pictures, um, by touching them. So it’s really opening up a new universe. And as Ki was mentioning, the technology also now is ready. So before, a few, uh, 10 years ago, yeah, there was like smaller scale efforts to do tactile displays, uh, braille tactile displays, but none of them were commercially viable. Uh, they were more like lab-type devices, and they were not necessarily very reliable.

So now it’s the right time because now finally, the need and the possibility and the technology is there to for us with partners to do that. And that’s why we, um, in partnerships, uh, with with the APH and DOT, we have released the Monarch, uh, last year and the overwhelming reception about that product is, uh, is really confirming that it was the right time. (laughs)

DAVE WILLIAMS: Okay. So thinking about how we make the most of this opportunity, I’m gonna stay with you, Louis. What should educators and assistive technology trainers understand to help users really succeed with multiline braille?

LOUIS-PHILIPPE MASSÉ: That’s a very good, uh, a very good point because it’s not because you have a technology that it’s without people understanding how to use it and how people adapting their curriculum in schools or applications for work, um, without this, it’s just a nice piece of technology, right? So, of course, the trainers, the TVIs, they are playing a central part in this because first, they need to, uh, to learn about that new technology, understanding how it’s gonna affect the way they teach, the way they support blind users. But also, uh, they need to open up. And it’s very easy for me to say as I’m not a braille reader, but they need to open up, uh, in trying to figure out new ways of, you know, teaching STEM material in the schools and also providing new possibility for the professional market.

DAVE WILLIAMS: Well, I know somebody who is a braille reader, Greg Stilson. Can you share a story or an insight from a school or a program where multiline braille has really made a massive impact?

GREG STILSON: Yeah, I can share a lot of ’em. Um, I think, you know, you’re talking about multiline braille, and you’re also talking about tactile graphics access, and both are crucial here. And that’s the beauty of the, uh, the DOT Cells that are in the tools like the Monarch, for example. We have so much experience with students who have been able to read large quantities of text, um, on the tactile display to the point where, um, they’ve been able to do things like, large math problems, for example, or learning things like matrices, uh, long division. Um, and traditionally, what they would use is a Perkins Brailler to do these type of math equations, but being able to take this quiet device that they’re not hammering on in a gen ed classroom and be able to do their math assignments, do their large read aloud sections in class and do it on a device that is one tool, right? They’re not having to carry or find volumes of braille.

Um, the other side is really around gamification. Um, we’ve released a couple games on the Monarch that have really solidified students’ ability to understand both how to manipulate, uh, a touch-capable tactile display, um, in a multiline environment, but do it in a fashion that they don’t know that they’re actually learning something. They’re playing a game, and so it’s an effective way to teach them the skills of using these type of devices. And I think that that’s a crucial component, you know? So much … Uh, I’ve got young kids, right? And they were on tablets probably far earlier than I was supposed to put them on tablets (laughs) and, uh, and they learned a lot just by playing games, right? Um, you know, you play the PBS Kids games or you play the ABC Mouse games, and these kids are learning literacy skills without actually knowing that they’re learning anything.

DAVE WILLIAMS: Ki, taking perhaps a more international view, how do regional and cultural differences in tactile literacy affect the global adoption of multiline braille? What steps is DOT taking to support diverse learners?

KI KWANG SUNG: Um, yes, um, this is, I think, a very real challenge. Uh, tactile literacy right now is not uniform, you know, around the world yet, so I believe, uh, this is not something one company can solve alone, you know. You know, what we really need to do is to get together, so educators, developers, organizations and companies meet to work together to build a global, uh, tactile ecosystem together so that, uh, users can access the tactile graphic information universally available.

So at DOT, we are trying to contribute, uh, by providing tools like the Dot Pad and also, um, AI-powered software so that, you know, that AI engine can actually convert images into tactile graphics so that, uh, visually impaired users can access unified tactile graphic literacy and information. But, um, this is something, uh, DOT cannot do by ourselves, you know, we need to work with HumanWare and APH, and all different organizations like Perkins and RNIB over the world. So, I think ultimately, tactile ecosystem should belong to everyone, and if we all align our efforts, multiline braille and tactile graphics can be universal and essential as screen readers are today. So, I think so that they can understand and access the information through touch in their own way, so.

DAVE WILLIAMS: Exciting times, but of course, as technologists, we’re always keen to know what’s next on the innovation roadmap. Uh, Ki, I’m gonna stay with you. How is AI already enhancing your multiline braille solutions?

KI KWANG SUNG: Yeah, um, I think, uh, AI is really already at the core, you know, what we are doing at DOT. So, um, our DOT engine, uh, AI interprets the visual data, diagrams, and equations in interfaces, uh, and translate them into meaningful tactile graphics in real time. But of course it’s not perfect yet. Um, we are actually trying to use AI to convert any images into tactile graphics so that, um, you know, as I said, everyone can access graphics from the internet. So, uh, I think, uh, this is not perfect yet but if we work together, you know, here, our folks, both HumanWare and APH, then, uh, it’s not that far away.

And I think we are going to further development, uh, you know, AI engine, fine-tuned for visually impaired users, which provide intelligent guidance and delivers tactile information dynamically through multiline braille and graphics so that, um, not only converting tactile graphics but also using AI agent will open up all digital content accessible for the visually impaired people with tactile graphics. And lastly, uh, at the same time, through DOT’s collaboration with Microsoft, we are building and we are enabling blind users to access PowerPoint more accessible, and also with Google, uh, we are putting our efforts to make tactile graphic AI assistance truly accessible with Gemini. So we are really, really excited about this.

DAVE WILLIAMS: Louis, what do you perceive as the major design or production challenges ahead for multiline braille, and how is HumanWare addressing those?

LOUIS-PHILIPPE MASSÉ: Well, obviously, um, if we take a step back and look at what happened in the mainstream industry with PCs and later on smartphones and tablets, is really they all evolved in becoming more performant but also cheaper, smaller, more durable, um, so obviously we at HumanWare with partners, we keep our eyes open on trying to find ways to achieve this. We’re not in the same industry as the smartphone industry obviously, so we cannot count on selling millions of units a month like these big companies are. So obviously we are in a different ecosystem, different business ecosystem. But still, it’s our mission, of course, all of us here, it’s our mission to democratize technology, to make everybody able to learn and work in everyday life as efficiently as possible.

So, this is what we’re trying to continue to do. Uh, we want to have the device more compact, lighter, easier to carry, but also less expensive. Um, people might say, “Well, these devices are still very expensive.” Yeah, they are. They are. Uh, but of course, if we consider the costs it saves in printing braille books, it’s already a big progress in the direction of democratizing the knowledge and science and the professional market to braille readers. So this is kind of what is driving us.

Um, we want to continue to work with DOT and with the APH and some of our other partners to see, okay, is there any new way that we could try to make, for example, the braille cells more compact, consume less energy, these kind of things. And, um, so we look at this and this is what we’ve been doing at HumanWare for a while, trying to, you know, every generation of product, trying to make a little iteration of improving the product. And, uh, that’s kind of what is driving us.

But also this is, I talk more about the hardware, but same about the software. We want to make the software solution more intuitive, easier to use, easier to teach for teachers, obviously. So using, I’ll just continue with what Ki was saying and, you know, using AI is actually a new set of tools that we can use to achieve that and making solutions easier to use and quicker to market compared to more traditional ways of designing solutions. So this is kind of where we’re aiming for the future for multiline and tactile display.

DAVE WILLIAMS: Greg, could you share a little sneak preview of what’s next from APH in this space?

GREG STILSON: Yeah. Um, so for us, it’s games and apps on the Monarch platform itself. Um, so we’ve finalized a software development kit that we as APH have been using for a year now to build these apps and games. Um, and we’ve been really happy with where we’re at, and we’re starting to see these games and apps kind of come faster, uh, and the development cycle to be reduced. So one example, um, I mentioned the PBS KIDS games that my kids have played in the past. Um, APH has reached a partnership with PBS KIDS, and we’re gonna be releasing a tactile version of their popular Cyber Chase Echo Explorer game that’s playable by any kid no matter whether they’re playing on a PC browser or they’re playing in the PBS KIDS app on an iPad. Um, they’re now gonna be able to play that exact same game, uh, in a tactile form on the Monarch.

And that’s just one example of ways that we’re really excited to sort of innovate using mainstream experiences. Um, and I think that this more than anything was sort of a beacon of light by the actual mainstream, right? The mainstream saw potential. They saw that this was the platform that was used in the United States amongst students with visual impairments, and they chose to partner with APH to port that game into a tactile form. And, um, and it’s beyond exciting. It’s super fun to be able to actually play the game, feel the grid, touch the tactile graphics while hearing the audio and the story. Um, and kids most importantly are gonna be able to play the same game that their sighted peers have played on their tablets or iPads or whatever it is. So, I think that’s just one example of the ways that gamified learning can come to a platform like this.

But going forward, I think one of the other initiatives that APH really has is over the last year, um, and we have, you know, 1,350 Monarchs out in the wild now. Um, what we learned was over the last 12 months, uh, traditionally we would have expected a minor increase in the amount of access to our tactile graphics image library. So, what we learned over the last year was over 45% of the actual downloads from the tactile graphics image library were done by Monarchs now. And so that was, uh, at this point over 17,000 graphics that have been accessed by Monarchs around the world here. Um, so with that, that tells us that we need to increase the amount of graphics that are in our TGIL, uh, number one. So, these are professionally designed graphics by a tactile artist. And so that’s another initiative that we have is increasing sort of, I’m gonna say, request-a-graphic or request-a-design, um, so that students have access to the graphics that they want to see. And so, um, increasing the amount of graphics in the TGIL, that’s an internationally free, accessible tool that anybody can access.

Um, and then I’d say the last piece is really increasing, um, that time or reducing that time to fingertips for transcribed braille. Um, so looking at what solutions we can do with AI, with additional new technology to sort of improve transcription times, so that we can get transcribed braille, professionally transcribed braille in the hands of kids much faster. And we can do that now with a wirelessly capable device like the Monarch.

Um, the most important thing, I think when it’s all said and done, is we talk about innovation and we talk about the technology advancements. The one thing that I wanna, I have to give DOT so much credit for is over the last 12 months we’ve had, uh, you know, all these Monarchs out there, 1,350 Monarchs that are available. Each Monarch has 480 Braille cells. We’ve had two Monarchs that have come back with one damaged Braille cell. That is quality, that is durability unlike anything that we’ve ever seen in the digital Braille space. So just huge hats off to the folks at DOT and HumanWare, um, for the work that they’ve done to create not only a new innovation in Braille technology, but the durability is what’s crucial. You got kids using these on a daily basis, and I have very young kids and they’re sometimes pretty gross. And so it’s a huge testament to the work that the team has done here.

DAVE WILLIAMS: I’m sure there’ll be lots of people pleased to hear that. Thank you, Greg. Um, Louis touched on this earlier, the elephant in the room, I guess, uh, which is, uh, you know, sometimes the tricky subject of cost, which we know as blind people, many in our community, you know, are living in difficult circumstances. What practical guidance can we offer blind people, uh, for accessing or affording these devices? Greg, I’m gonna come back to you ’cause you’re based in the United States. What options are available there?

GREG STILSON: So I’ll start with the traditional federal quota system. Um, so the federal quota system is available to any student who qualifies under the definition of blind or low vision. Um, and there is a federal appropriation that’s distributed to every state that is separate from your traditional special ed funds. This is money that is redistributed every single year, and it’s used to purchase products from the American Printing House for the Blind. So that’s number one. And that’s the most basic foundational redistribution of funding, right?

But we have additional funding as well. So we have the Monarch Student Pilot Project that is gonna this year distribute about 200 Monarchs to students in K-12 classrooms around the United States. And that’s something that Congress has given us the authorization to reuse every year.

The last piece I’ll mention is what we’re calling the RISE Grant, which is for those seeking employment. So this is for students in higher education. This is professionals in the workplace where a multiline tactile display would improve your productivity. Um, and so that grant is a five-year grant that we are looking to distribute about 300 Monarchs this year, um, to professionals or students in higher education as well. Uh, you of course can contact the American Printing House for the Blind here. Um, and if we are able to accommodate that, we’ve distributed the Monarchs for 2025, but we’re gonna be looking to distribute them for 2026 as well. So please get in touch with us.

DAVE WILLIAMS: Okay. And thinking internationally, is there anything, uh, Ki or Louis you’d like to add to that?

LOUIS-PHILIPPE MASSÉ: Well, I’m based in Canada, I forgot to mention at the beginning. Um, so we also have the different provinces and at the federal level there is also different organizations that are also supporting blind people. So for example, at the federal level in Canada, there’s the CNIB, um, which is, we of course discuss with them. And, uh, so I invite, you know, people here in Canada to contact their the family or agencies they are with in their province and, um, they can seek some information about Braille displays. But also there is also other organizations that are also supporting them at the international level. Maybe Ki, you want to open up a little about your areas of the world?

KI KWANG SUNG: Yeah, um, you know, if I say a little bit about South Korean market, uh, we have, you know, Ministry of Science and ICT and they are providing this, the Braille display and assistive device for the visually impaired people for them to access digital contents in any space. And also we have a Ministry of Employment and Labor. So basically, um, if a blind people when they get a job, they can actually request equipment for work that the Korean government will support, you know, of almost 90% to a 100% of the whole entire the device cost. So I think it is South Korean government support, but I believe in Europe and Japan, different countries can also have they have their own those kind of system to support the visually impaired and blind people to access any information around the world.

DAVE WILLIAMS: Thank you so much all of you for your time. It’s been an incredibly fascinating conversation and I’m sure it will continue. Uh, thank you Ki and Greg and Louis. And to learn more about technology and this subject, be sure to check out the Sight Tech Global website, APH, HumanWare, and DOT. It’s very clear that multiline Braille is not just a new piece of technology, but a fundamental shift in the way we as blind people access information by touch. Thank you so much for tuning in to Sight Tech Global 2025. From myself, Dave Williams, and everyone who brought this to you, bye for now.

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