Are you aware of the National Braille Press Prize for Genius Innovation award? It "was developed to inspire an innovator to continue the promotion of braille literacy for blind and deafblind people worldwide." & your project might be eligible - but applications close next week. Check it out at: http://www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/programs/tog/tog_prize

Are you awarw of the National Braille Press Prize for Genius Innovation award? It "was developed to inspire an innovator to continue the promotion of braille literacy for blind and deafblind people worldwide." & your project might be eligible - but applications close next week. Check it out at: http://www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/programs/tog/tog_prize

Great idea, hope some angel investor could help make this a reality. "Don't stop believing" (Journey)

I'd sure like to see the Haptica take wing!

That sucks it didn't get funded. It's such a great project!

Didn't work this time...but its just a start...remember any project is a journey...it will be reality one day!

I am sorry the project was canceled. This Barille watch is really cool and hope you continue the project and come back to us again, soon.

im sorry the funding did not succeed on kickstarter. i hope you will still be able to accomplish this watch one day. it would be great for all visually impaired patients.

@David Chavez

Yes my wife does prepare it but I do the frying part. =)

it's a shame, what is the future of this project?

"The principle behind all design ... is human dignity." — Richard Buchanan.

David, I decided to back this project because it addresses a real set of problems and I saw that this watch would make the lives of the blind a little better. Last month I attended a conference where I saw a keynote address by Richard Buchanan who summed up in one phrase why the Haptica Braille Watch resonated with me; it is quoted above.

I have increased my pledge but with hours left it appears the project is only 1/3 funded. Whatever the outcome, I hope that you continue to press forward and make the Haptica a reality.

I think many of us have relayed information on our blogs or different networks, it only remains to hope.

Maybe David Chavez will tell us more about the future of Haptica today or tomorrow, after all he is the master of the project which will decide what will become Haptica if funds are not met.

@Suh john
I hope that if the goal is not reached, another solution will be proposed
so that this project goes ahead, it is interesting and useful especially, but
24 one can always expect a burst of generosity!

Customers are fans of gadgets and finance without retained, they should
do the same here!

Btw... my wife just posted on her blog about the watch concept and to rally some support!

http://www.theblindcook.com/2011/03/03/design-concept-haptica-braille-watch/

@Guillaume

If it doesn't reach the goal, will guys be seeking a separate fundraiser? I'd definitely want to donate beyond this kickstarter if possible.

@john suh: Project Home - "Unfortunately, if our goal isn’t met before the deadline, no money changes hands and there will be no Haptica watch. We don't like that scenario and we hope you don't either!"
27 Hours to go...

What will you do if you don't hit your goal of raising $150k ?

I did my work and got the power of 10! I encourage everyone to do the same. Let's make the goal!

Many project we reached $ 100,000 while waiting much less ((a show by doing a little turn on kickstarting)..
By sharing information can be sent to 150,000 ...

On se motive!

I think the 150k price point was too optimistic and unrealistic. Im in for 250, but as the weeks have ticked by and the amount pledged barely has, I dont see this happening

I'm stepping up my level...I urge all backers to step up!

This is so totally cool. I want this! I bought in, and I think it is so great that you are giving back to the many cool people that have already bought in too! Thanks to all of us who are going to make this happen!

@Jeremiah - rather than having a circular face and traditional analog watch hands like the Silen-T, the Haptica is a digital watch with a braille display. It's grey, with a wide strap and a rectangular metallic face. The top and bottom thirds of the rectangle are a raised frame. The middle third is a single line of braille with four cells, with only four dots in each cell since it only needs to represent numbers. The braille number sign is not used.

From what I can tell from the images, each dot is on the edge of a little rotating disc, so when the disc is turned one way, the dot is showing, and when it turns the other way the dot disappears behind the raised frame. It's a really elegant solution, and I wonder if it could have wider application for representing braille numbers on digital devices.

Very cool. I posted and backing.

Hi David, congratulations! I make a post in my blog to help people back the project here in Brazil (http://www.coletivoverde.com.br/relogio-braille/ ) . Congratulations for you work!!!!

Hey David,

Inspiring to see you on here! Get the word out there! You are 1/3 there. I hope this becomes a success for you; if not here & now, then for sure soon!

Greg

Criminally beautiful - Fantastic design !!! ROBRADY likes...

Hi, I am new here and just joint (this is my 1st comment), I like this concept a lot and would like to wish you every success with this and look forward to seeing the finished watch.
Best wishes

Fantastic, not being blind myself, it's hard to imagine how challenging a task like checking the time can be. That said, I'm glad to be able to help out with this project and would really like to see it come to fruition.
I know you guys will get the finding you need.

I'm a totally blind individual and can't tell from the text or video how this concept differs from the Tissot Silen-T. http://www.tissot.ch/…

If the funding goal isn't met here, might the inventor(s) consider posting in the Braille Monitor (nfb.org), Braille Forum (acb.org), presenting to or having a presence at either organization's national convention (at Orlando and Reno respectively in early July), and/or publicizing the effort via Twitter through the widely read fredshead (twitter.com/fredshead). Good luck, and thanks in advance for your clarification of the concept for me.

Excellent idea. My days are heavily scheduled with meetings, and this will give me a way to check the time discreetly, without appearing rude to the person I'm meeting with.

I really like this watch (especially if it had a metal band) and I pledged the $250 so that I would 1) have an interesting and unique conversation piece 2) help fund something that could help those with disabilities. My only concern is how confident are you that you can provide a final product that will look (reasonably) similar to this? I know it most likely won't look identical to the concept, but I want to know it will at least resemble this. Anyways, awesome concept for how this would work with the spinning disks and I hope the best for you!

I like this enough to pledge $250, However, it would be reassuring to know whether the design is more than just concept. Two other concept watches for the visually impaired - Tact and Oosh - never seem to have made it to market:
http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tact-from-julien-bergignat
http://walyou.com/its-braille-time-literally/

I love the design of this watch, it is simple, elegant and functional.
Hope you reach (and hopefully surpass) the financial goal, as it would be a shame to see such an opportunity fizzle out due to lack of funding.

look at the face the braille turns on little disks in and out of the furrow of the timepiece.

Im not sure if these people already have a working design. It is possible to raise or collapse the Braille bumps by placing an electromagnet under each one.

By selectively powering the different bumps, you could get use the electromagnetic repulsion to pop out the bump and make it noticeable. The power source would of course be similar to a regular watch battery, though I am not sure what the rate of consumption would be.

I'm sure its also possible to make a popped out sphere stay there without a constant power source, and the magnets would only need to be used when changing states. A very small circuit board would control the states of the electromagnets.

This is a fantastic idea. While I can't afford the $250 mark (yet) I definitely wanted to provide some funding. Best of luck to your project!

Maybe this could lead to an affordable, refreshable, Braille cell. The world needs one. Let's hope this project succeeds!

I have an 8 year-old daughter who is blind and a Braille reader. I haven't wanted to buy her a talking watch for many reasons...hoping something better would come along. Here it is! I'm spreading the word!

This is incredible. I hope to see this become a reality. Wonderful idea, kudos to everyone behind this.

What an elegant idea. I can't believe such a watch doesn't already exist. I hope you can raise enough to make it :D

Also think it's a cool idea. Perhaps you might join forces with TikTock project and produce a stand alone device that snaps into the band like the iPod nano. Might save money and speed up development by using same case size as iPod Nano.

In any case, I hope you do take a minute to answer Caplan's questions about the basic engineering on the operation of the watch.

Hi, this project looks great. Three quick questions: 1. What happens when the time changes? Will different bumps lower and raise or is there some kind of cylindrical mechanism where when the time changes and part of the watch rotates to get the new time? 2. Are there any plans to display the date or day of week? 3. Do you know in general how the user will set the initial time? Thanks a lot.