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.

这个小型企业技术转移计划I阶段项目旨在为盲人开发可令人振奋的盲文显示器。现有的盲文技术需要复杂的机械设计，这些设计笨重且过于昂贵。将开发一种基于新的智能材料（可振动电活性聚合物）的新技术，以在薄的平板上启用盲文点阵列。 该项目将进一步促进该聚合物的材料开发，开发盲文细胞的低成本加工和模式，并设计驱动电路和控制软件。 来自加利福尼亚大学洛杉矶分校的研究人员将在该项目上进行合作，从而进一步开发智能材料，以获得高度的驱动性能和耐用性。 该项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是可获得低成本，轻巧的刷新盲文显示器。新的盲文显示器将大大提高盲人人口的识字率，尤其是对于儿童。用户将能够通过短信与他们的老师和同龄人立即沟通。较低的制造成本将使全球3.14亿人中有视力障碍的3.14亿人中的较大部分可以访问这些陈列。 基础技术还可以适应以提供公众访问的解决方案，以使视力受损。预计的市场按数亿美元的订单订单，可能会创造数百个就业机会。该项目还将为具有巨大商业潜力的功能传感器提供对新智能材料的更好的基本了解和新的工程设计。