According to Lubiner, the first prototype for BrailleDoodle underwent several design iterations to achieve the required level of accuracy. To produce a better prototype, the project was reshored stateside. Lubiner and his engineering team earned the assistance of a Protolabs manufacturing grant that helped offset the price of prototypes for the nonprofit. Protolabs’ 3D-printing team stepped in to manufacture the three main parts of the prototype — a braille-learning front perforated surface, free-drawing back perforated surface, and plastic springs to hold the raised metal balls inside their holes.

Similar to magnetic drawing boards that kids love, the BrailleDoodle uses a stylus and magnetic balls to teach blind and visually impaired children the braille alphabet.

The device was designed with two sides, one of which allows users to practice braille by running the stylus over discrete spaces configured for each letter of the alphabet. On the reverse side, the stylus can be used for more imaginative purposes, such as pulling up balls to form shapes, including a house, tree, moon, or spaceship. On the braille side, the balls can only be pulled into specific patterns that match the letter of the space being filled. Next to each letter space is another space where kids can practice making the letter on their own and comparing the result. Below the alphabet area are free-writing spaces for creating numbers, words, and sentences in braille.

Advanced technology, including remote audio and video tools, was generally credited with helping students across the globe to continue their education during the coronavirus pandemic. But at least one population never had a good substitute for on-site, in-person instruction — those living with blindness or clinically impaired vision. Learning to read and communicate via braille is often the difference between being successful with one’s education or struggling through it. A new educational tool, which utilizes a plastic similar to acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and 3D printing, offers a different type of remote learning experience for this cohort.

Farasis Energy, together with its partners, will develop a detailed model for simulating thermal runaway or enhance existing models within the company. In future development processes for module and pack projects, the insights gained from the developed simulation model will be utilized to expedite development and save on costly testing. Additionally, these simulation models enable the company to achieve a quicker and safer integration of plastic-based module and pack enclosures.

The BrailleDoodle is available for pre-order through the TouchPad Pro Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) assistive technology organization. At the time of wrting, the TouchPad Pro Foundation has received approximately 500 pre-orders. Some buyers reportedly plan to donate devices to schools and other organizations. Lubiner has also sent a prototype to a testing company for feedback before moving to production.

The tablet allows users to drag a magnetic stylus over its surface, pulling small metallic balls through holes in various patterns to create braille letters, figures, or images. Plastic springs hold the balls firmly in place until the user pushes them down again. In all, the device requires 3,000 plastic springs.

To this end, Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action has invested €2.6 million ($2.8 million) in funding for Project SiKuBa. This research initiative will study formation and propagation of hot gas and particle flows and their interaction with structural elements experimentally as well as via simulation models, which will lead to increased cost- and time-efficiency in the development phase. It will also be possible to assess battery safety regarding load case scenarios, materials, and component design. SiKuBa is an acronym for “safe and sustainable plastic-based battery housings.”

The BrailleDoodle is a portable, laptop-sized tablet that teaches children the braille alphabet while enabling them to learn phonics, practice writing words and sentences, create X-Y graphs for mathematical equations, and free draw. The device is expected to compensate for the shortcomings of many digital devices when it comes to appropriately teaching children literary and writing skills, according to a recent press release from digital manufacturing company Protolabs, which contributed its expertise to the project. As innovative as the BrailleDoodle is, the story behind its creation is equally noteworthy.

Farasis Energy, a developer and producer of high-performance lithium-ion battery technology and pouch cells for electromobility, is leading the method development of the simulation model for mapping thermal runaway of individual cells and propagation in the module. The company is also providing support on all battery-related topics within the project. The three-year project started in July 2023.

Joe Darrah is an award-winning freelance journalist based in the Philadelphia region who covers a variety of topics, including healthcare and medical technology. His articles have been published in more than 40 publications.

A stereolithography (SLA) printer was used to produce more accurate prototypes with features as small as 0.002 inches. This was crucial for the movement of the metal balls, and the SLA process also provided a better surface-quality finish to benefit the cosmetic appearance of the prototype, according to the press release. The design team also saved time and avoided unnecessary iterations by having access to Protolabs’ digital quoting platform and instant Design for Additive Manufacturing (DFAM) analysis. The team completed two iterations, producing a functional prototype crucial for attracting interest in the BrailleDoodle.

Fundamental effects are being investigated at the laboratory level, including thermomechanical material behavior and cell degassing. The knowledge gained is being integrated into simulation models and validated by physical tests on a demonstrator housing that closely resembles the planned product. The simulation methods developed not only enable significant time and cost savings during the development phase, but also support comprehensive assessment of battery safety under a variety of load case scenarios, materials, and component design.

Farasis Energy is part of the research consortium, along with Kautex Textron and the Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics, Ernst-Mach-Institut (EMI). Their efforts are aimed at making plastic-based battery housings safer by means of virtual design and, thus, increasing the safety of electric vehicles (EVs).

The SiKuBa project aims to develop simulation methodologies for “safe and sustainable plastic-based battery housings.” Image courtesy of Kautex Textron.

Plastic enclosures have many advantages over metal enclosures: They are lighter, more sustainable, cheaper to produce, and have better electrical insulation. In the event of a damaged cell, the battery housing can be exposed to enormous thermal loads if thermal runaway of individual cells occurs. In the worst case, this reaction can spread to adjoining cells, known as thermal propagation. The battery housing has a high safety-relevant function in this case, as it can contain spread of the resulting hot gases and particles. One challenge, however, is proving its safety, which is complex and expensive.

The brainchild of New York–based special education teacher Daniel Lubiner, the BrailleDoodle was inspired by a toy that uses a stylus and magnetic balls to render drawings and other types of artwork. To obtain funding for the project, Lubiner launched the TouchPad Pro Foundation, which raised more than $70,000 in donations, and started a Kickstarter campaign, that brought in another $37,000. Lubiner then collaborated with New York–based Creative Engineering to develop the product’s design. Protolabs became involved after the first prototype produced by a China-based company didn’t reliably function as intended.

Stephen has been with PlasticsToday and its preceding publications Modern Plastics and Injection Molding since 1992, throughout this time based in the Asia Pacific region, including stints in Japan, Australia, and his current location Singapore. His current beat focuses on automotive. Stephen is an avid folding bicycle rider, often taking his bike on overseas business trips, and a proud dachshund owner.