BENGALURU: A portable and inexpensive Braille printer, an invention by a Karnataka student, won the Best Social Impact Business Idea at the SmartIDEAthon 2022, a nationwide pitch fest organised by Startup India in collaboration with several universities. Prithvi Systems and Innovations founder and chief invertor Kaviraj Prithvi’s team was one of the 1,200 shortlisted for the fest and has been working towards inventing assistive technology. The Tactall, a mouse-sized portable printer, allows for easy printing in Braille and is relatively inexpensive, according to Kaviraj.
“Braille printers print in standard dimensions and they are often very large, expensive and standalone, averaging to about $2000 to $3000. We wanted to make it more accessible for people to print in Braille, especially as this was a common problem which I found out when I had visited a school for the blind,” Kaviraj told TNIE. While the printer is in its prototype stage, Kaviraj, who is also pursuing engineering physics at II T Guwahati, and his team of 15 members, are also working towards inventing other types of assistive tech.
“All of our inventions have assistive angle to them. When I was younger, I wanted to start a startup and I felt that everything that I invented should have a social angle and must help people,” he said. Apart from the printer, Kaviraj is also working towards building a non-invasive way to monitor blood pressure, as well as a patented rotor control system and a suspension system for bumps. “The suspension system is being designed specifically for wheelchairs and other support vehicles, but it can also be used generally. The rotor system is specifically for helicopters, to allow for easier rescue operations and to lessen turbulence while transporting patients,” he said.