While blind people are able to enter text into computers via braille keyboards, their options are more limited when it comes to using smartphones while on the go. The Fintin V1 is designed to help, by compressing a full QWERTY keyboard into just six keys.
First of all, there are compact Bluetooth braille keyboards that can be used with smartphones while out and about. Their keys are obviously quite small and close together, however, making it difficult for some users to identify the individual braille characters by touch alone.
That's where the Fintin is designed to come in.
Made by Korean electronics company Onecom, the compact handheld device communicates with a paired iPhone or Android smartphone (or a PC or Mac) via Bluetooth 5.0 BLE.
Putting it simply, its designers took the layout of the letters on a traditional QWERTY keyboard, and transposed it onto the six main multi-functional keys of the Fintin. Each of those keys can in turn be pressed in six different directions, with each direction representing a different letter.
So the designation for one of the keys, for instance, is Q=upper left / W=upper middle / E=upper right / A=lower left / S=lower middle / D=lower right. Non-alphabetic functions such as Ctrl, Alt, Shift and mode selection are accessed via keys other than the main six.
Each key produces a distinctive tactile click when pressed, plus the device incorporates a haptic feedback system to notify users of things like battery status, changes in settings, and special features being switched on or off. One charge of the battery is claimed to be good for up to 60 hours of use.
The Fintin V1 will be officially unveiled at CES in Las Vegas, where it has earned a Best of Innovation award. Information on pricing and availability has yet to be announced. You can see it in use, in the video below.
Onecom has stated that it also plans to incorporate the technology into devices for sighted users – such as Xbox, Nintendo Switch and PC gaming controllers – for quick messaging and chat capabilities.
Source: Onecom