Visually impaired people lead a hard life because they have to depend on others for almost every step they take. Modern times are making their lives easier as designers are coming up with products/gadgets that have been designed keeping this section of the society in mind. A watch is a great way to keep track of time in this technology-driven world and even blind need it to divide their day in a sensible manner. It is a basic tool and holds utmost importance in everyone’s life. But, visually impaired need to feel things most of the time and making good use of this are modern day watches for the blind. Here is a list of seven innovative timepieces that have been specially designed for the visually impaired.
1. Tactile Wrist-Watch
Tactile Wrist-Watch has been designed by Jacob Rynkiewicz that can be easily read by blind. It has been crafted from flexible rubber and has a band that is easy to wear. It uses touch gestures and will unfold a tactile interaction. The face of this impressive watch has a center button that unfolds the minute hand when it is pressed. This minute hand can be rotated easily if desired. The user has to simply feel the dots on the center button to read accurate time. It will come fitted with an easy to replace 3 volt coin battery.
2. Sentio Digital Tactile Watch
Sentio Digital Tactile Watch comes wrapped with high-end features that have been combined with great looks. The revolutionary timepiece has been designed by Matthew Wagerfield and promises to make lives of visually impaired and partially sighted people all the more independent. The designer has ingeniously merged old and new aged technologies for a much better product. The watch has a 7-segment display that is commonly used in digital watches and alarm clocks. Each and every segment rises up to 1mm above the surface of the watch, thanks to the tactile display. This works like a Braille and lets blind touch and read time without much trouble.
3. Tact
Julien Bergignat has come up with a brilliant watch design for the blind. Christened the Tact, it will keep visually impaired well informed about every passing minute of the day. The watch makes good use of Braille and its needles have been swapped by sensory points. The design comprises of two circles, out of which one represents the hour hand and the other minute hand. Both the circles have different sensory points. Tact has been crafted from plastic and stainless steel and is also water resistant.
4. OOSH Braille Watch
OOSH Braille Watch will let the blind feel time. Designed by WinG Li, it has an eye-catching design and is simple to use. If the user is incapable of reading the Braille, he/she can easily activate the voice notifications option. It has been integrated with a sensor that can be activated by simply tilting the hand. This robotically senses the motion on the user’s hand and produces a voice that tells time. One can easily choose between the touch and voice notification mode as per his/her whims and fancies.
5. Braille Wristwatch
The Braille Wristwatch is an attention-grabbing creation by designer Lawrence Kwok. As the name suggests, the watch is an easy device for the blind as it makes good use of Braille. Traditional watches for blind had a lot of dots that expected users to open the face of the timepiece and feel them. This matrix of 3 x 18 dots often led to a lot of confusion and in turn irritated the visually impaired. Braille Wristwatch deletes such pointless dots for a simpler presentation and gives out only important information. The matrix of this intuitive design has been brought down to 4 x 4 dots that will prove to be a blessing for the blind.
6. X-Watch Concept Timepiece
The X-Watch Concept Timepiece is a unique creation by Damian Kozlik. It will make reading time easy for both the visually impaired and visually able people. The rubber strap of this universal timepiece has been embedded with LEDs that have been placed neatly behind graduated glass. This glass also features Braille numbers that overlap at the center to reveal correct time. The design manages to arrest attention and will definitely fetch the wearer a lot of compliments.
7. Haptica Braille Watch
David Chavez has designed a beautiful timepiece for the blind that has been dubbed the Haptica Braille Watch. This will allow blind to touch and feel time accurately without depending on others. Haptica also has an audible description for those who are not comfortable using Braille. The watch will prove to be a boon for people with disabilities and will decorate their wrists with an impressive design.
