Bristol Braille Technology is a social enterprise based in Bedminster, Bristol, developing Canute 360, the world's first multi-line refreshable Braille e-reader. Braille is ten times the cost of print. Affordable Braille is essential for blind literacy, education and employment, yet Braille use has declined, due in no small part to stagnant technology. So as a team, we’ve dedicated the last twelve years to creating better Braille technology and breaking down the barriers blind people face. Bristol Braille Technology CIC is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to serving blind communities through the invention and provision of Braille devices. Some of us are engineers, others specialise in supporting accessible products. After trialling various single line prototypes we decided, in 2012, to concentrate all our efforts on multiline refreshable Braille. Making Braille more affordable wasn’t enough. Reading Braille twenty or forty cells at a time is no better than reading print off a ticker tape, or a calculator screen. We began work on the Canute. Finally, in 2020, after fourteen prototypes and years of love had gone into the design, both by our team and our community in the Braillists, the Canute 360 launched.
