Microfluidic Braille and tactile display for education
Official title: Microfluidic technology for a full-page braille and graphical tactile display
Funded at Newhaptics Corp. · NIH-11409085 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A new, portable braille and tactile graphics display uses microfluidic technology to give large-format, block-by-block touch feedback for diagrams and text to adults who are blind or have vision loss.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 2 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Newhaptics Corp. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Ann Arbor, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | July 1, 2019 |
| Project end | May 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $1,045,938 |
| NIH project number | 2R44EY030385-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11409085 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults who are blind or have significant vision loss and rely on tactile information for learning and daily tasks.
✕Less likely to help
Those who do not use tactile displays or where alternative assistive technologies are already sufficient may not benefit.
What this research studies
This project aims to deliver a large 30-by-96 dot tactile surface that lets users read braille and explore graphics in one seamless, interactive experience. It uses microfluidic chips to actuate many tactile dots from a small set of valves, with multi-touch sensing to support diagrams, graphs, and equations. The device is designed to be portable, low-cost, and easy to integrate into classrooms and personal study, expanding access to STEM materials. The effort targets about 60,000 K–12 students and roughly 1.5 million blind people in the U.S. who could benefit from improved independent access to educational content.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, students and adults who are blind could access complex educational materials more easily and independently.
How similar studies have gone: Previous tactile display work shows promise; this project scales to large-format, multi-touch tactile surfaces with improved manufacturability.
Where this research is happening
-
Newhaptics Corp.
Ann Arbor, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Russomanno, Alexander — Newhaptics Corp.
- Study coordinator: Russomanno, Alexander
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Touch-in-Touch-Out tactile display for blind and visually impaired users
A new touchscreen-like device with thousands of raised tactile pins will let blind and visually impaired people directly manipulate on-screen items using drag, resize, and drawing actions.
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A device that provides tactile braille and graphics for blind users
This study is creating a new tablet-like device with a special touch screen that can show braille and pictures for blind people, making it easier for them to learn and access information in a fun and interactive way.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.