STTR Phase I: Bistable Electroactive Polymers for Refreshable Braille Displays

STTR 第一阶段：用于可刷新盲文显示器的双稳态电活性聚合物

• 批准号: 1010074
• 负责人: Hailiang Wang
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Polyradiant Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-07-01 至 2011-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1010074&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: STTR; Phase; Bistable; Electroactive; Polymers

This Small Business Technology Transfer Program Phase I project aims to develop a refreshable Braille display for the blind. Existing Braille technologies require complicated mechanical designs that are bulky and too expensive for personal use. A new technology based on a new smart material (bistable electroactive polymer) will be developed to enable a Braille dot array on a thin flat panel. The project will further the material development of this polymer, develop low-cost processing and patterning of Braille cells, and design the driving circuitry and control software. Researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles will collaborate on the project, leading further development of the smart material to obtain high actuation performance and durability. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be the availability of low-cost, lightweight refreshable Braille displays. The new Braille displays will significantly increase literacy in the blind population, particularly for children. Users will be able to communicate instantly with their teachers and peers through text messaging. The low fabrication cost will make the displays accessible to a larger portion of the 314 million people worldwide that suffer from vision impairment. The underlying technology can also be adapted to provide solutions for public access for the vision impaired. The projected market is on the order of hundred millions of dollars and could create hundreds of jobs. The project will also lead to better basic understanding of the new smart material and to new engineering designs for functional transducers with large commercial potential.

小企业技术转让方案第一阶段项目旨在为盲人开发可刷新的盲文显示器。现有的盲文技术需要复杂的机械设计，对于个人使用来说体积庞大且过于昂贵。将开发一种基于新型智能材料（电活性聚合物）的新技术，以在薄平板上实现盲文点阵。 该项目将进一步推进这种聚合物的材料开发，开发盲文单元的低成本加工和图案化，并设计驱动电路和控制软件。 来自洛杉矶的加州大学的研究人员将在该项目上进行合作，领导智能材料的进一步开发，以获得高致动性能和耐用性。 该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是低成本、轻便、可刷新的盲文显示器的可用性。新的盲文显示器将大大提高盲人，特别是儿童的识字率。用户将能够通过短信与他们的老师和同龄人即时沟通。低制造成本将使全球3.14亿视力受损人群中的大部分人能够使用显示器。 基础技术也可以进行调整，为视障人士提供公共访问解决方案。预计市场规模将达到数亿美元，并可能创造数百个就业机会。该项目还将导致对新型智能材料的更好的基本理解，以及具有巨大商业潜力的功能传感器的新工程设计。