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MagnePins: A Modular, Affordable, and DIY Refreshable Braille and Tactile Display

on YouTube 13m
Talkat UIST 2025 · 2025-09-28..10-01· [accessibility]

speakers

name:Jim Smiley
links:none on file
name:Swamy Ananthanarayan
links:none on file
name:Leona M Holloway
links:none on file
name:Matthew Butler
links:none on file
name:Tim Dwyer
links:none on file

resources

video:https://youtu.be/KqWBjqGEdGI
slides:none on file

summary

A modular refreshable tactile display is built as a 24x89 pin array with 2.5 mm pin pitch and a separate 6x32 Braille module, assembled in a makerspace from coat-hanger-wound electromagnets, levitating magnetic pistons, bearing-mounted sliding carriage and an Arduino Mega controller. The prototype costs about $250–$300 in parts, drives pins with 15-ms pulses, achieves 99.97% accuracy in video-based tests, and requires manual carriage motion as a trade-off for reduced bulk; expert touch testing reports readable, high-resolution output.

AI-written summary · about

chapters (5)

  1. 0:00Introduction
  2. 2:42Project overview
  3. 5:27Mechanism and design
  4. 9:46Testing and improvements
  5. 11:23Q&A

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