Robust Low-Cost Refreshable Full-Page Braille Display with Advanced Electroactive

描述（由申请人提供）：据世界卫生组织（WHO）估计，“全球约有3.14亿人视力受损，其中4500万人失明”。在美国，只有26%的工作年龄盲人就业，视力疾病导致的高失业率导致每年约80亿美元的生产损失。在美国26%就业的工作年龄盲人中，近90%是盲文读者。然而，在美国，儿童的盲文识字率已经从40年前的50%下降到现在的12%。在众多的原因中，商业盲文显示器的高成本和低可靠性是阻碍儿童学习和使用盲文的因素。在SBIR第一阶段项目中，战略聚合物科学公司（Strategic Polymer Sciences，Inc.）(SPS)建议利用其专利电活性聚合物（EAP）致动器技术开发低成本、坚固耐用的全页盲文显示和图形显示。商业化项目的成功将建立在三项创新技术之上：EAP致动器具有与盲文规格相匹配的平衡应变和力响应;新颖的盲文设计，其中延伸EAP致动器用作盲文销以实现整页显示;以及可扩展的EAP致动器制造工艺，以降低成本和致动器质量一致性。EAP组合物和致动器装置是在宾夕法尼亚州立大学发明的（Zhang等人，Science 280：2101; 313：334; 321：821; & Nature 419：284），SPS已经获得这些技术的独家许可。该项目的成功将使数百万视障人士受益，他们将获得负担得起的盲文设备和更多的机会。 公共卫生相关性：先进的低成本电活性聚合物（EAP）基致动器的商业化可以实现可刷新的全页盲文显示和图形显示的实际应用，同时显著降低设备成本和维护成本并提高可靠性。该项目的成功将使数百万视障人士受益，他们将获得负担得起的盲文设备和更多的机会。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): It was estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) that "there are about 314 million people who are visually impaired with 45 million of them are blind". Only 26% of working-age blind people are employed in the US and the high unemployment rate due to vision diseases leads to an annual production loss of about $8.0 billion US dollars. Among the 26% employed working-age blind people in the US, nearly 90% are braille readers. However, the braille literate rate in children has decreased from over 50% in 40 years ago to ~12% now in the US. Among the various causes, the high-cost and poor- reliability of the commercial braille display are discouraging factors for the children to learn an use braille. In this SBIR Phase I project, Strategic Polymer Sciences, Inc. (SPS) proposes to develop low-cost robust full-page braille display and graphic display using its patented electroactive polymer (EAP) actuator technologies. The success of the commercialization project will be built upon three innovation technologies: EAP actuators with balanced strain and force response matching braille specifications, novel braille design in which the extensional EAP actuator serves as the braille pin to enable the full- page display, and a scalable EAP actuator manufacturing process for cost reduction and actuator quality consistency. The EAP compositions and actuator devices were invented at Penn State University (Zhang et al. Science 280:2101; 313:334; 321:821; & Nature 419:284) and SPS has obtained exclusive license of these technologies. The success of this project will benefit millions of visually impaired people with affordable braille devices and more opportunities. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The commercialization of advanced low-cost electroactive polymer (EAP)-based actuators can enable the practical application of refreshable full-page braille display and graphic display with significantly reduced device cost and maintenance cost and improved reliability. The success of this project will benefit millions of visually impaired people with affordable braille devices and more opportunities.