BrailleGrid

The PDF above was our presentation for the final showcase, providing a detailed overview of the entire project.

Highlights

• Created on a breadboard with an Arduino
• Components included: NMOS and PMOS transistors, push-pull solenoids, flyback diodes, shift registers
• Presented to industry professionals at the Final Showcase
• Won Most Innovative at the Final Showcase

Development

BrailleGrid was a project created for the Northwestern IEEE Student Branch's 2024 Technical Program during my freshman year. BrailleGrid was developed by Grace Meng, Can Afacan, Hasan Aybars Ari, Mimi Zhang, Aditi Ladda, and me (Katie Jiang), with Tim Sinaga as our outstanding project mentor.

The team members were split into two subteams: software and hardware. I was a member of the Hardware team, along with Grace and Can. I mostly helped with the shift register grid, and learned quite a bit about solenoids from my teammates. I also contributed a lot to the background research on commercial Braille displays, which are so mind-blowingly expensive to me. Even considering their higher quality and extra features compared to the prototype we made, the cost seems like a lot, especially on a device that is meant for accessibility.

Outcomes

• Learned more about Braille and engineering for accessibility
• Learned how to debug a circuit, particularly voltage/current issues in components
• Got to apply skills from Intro to Electrical Engineering to an extracurricular project