用玩具組裝盲文打印機
花季故事
作者：by Associated Press
In Silicon Valley， it’s never too early to become an entrepreneur[企業家]. Just ask 13-year-old Shubham Banerjee.
The California eighth-grader has launched[開辦] a company to develop low-cost machines to print Braille[盲文]. Tech giant Intel Corp. recently invested[投資] in his start-up， Braigo Labs.
Shubham built a Braille printer with a LEGO robotics kit[成套用具] as a school science fair project in 2014 after he asked his parents a simple question—How do blind people read？“Google it，” they told him.
Shubham then did some online research and was shocked to learn that Braille printers cost at least $2，000， too expensive for most blind readers， especially in developing countries.
“I just thought that price should not be there. I know that there is a simpler way to do this，” said Shubham.
He wants to develop a desktop Braille printer that costs around $350 and weighs just a few kilograms， compared with[與……比較] current models that can weigh more than nine kilograms. The machine could be used to print Braille reading materials on paper， using raised dots instead of ink， from a personal computer or electronic[電子的] device[設備].
“My end goal would probably be having most of the blind people…using my Braille printer，”said Shubham.
After the “Braigo，” a name that combines[結合] Braille and LEGO， won numerous[無數的] awards and support from the blind community[團體]， Shubham started Braigo Labs with a $35，000 investment[投資] from his father.
Shubham used the money to build a more advanced[高級的] version of his printer using an off-the-shelf[現成的] desktop printer and a newlyreleased Intel computer chip[芯片]. The new model， Braigo 2.0， can translate electronic text into Braille before printing.
Intel executives[執行總監] were so impressed with Shubham’s printer that in November they invested in his start-up.