用玩具组装盲文打印机

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  In Silicon Valley, it’s never too early to become an entrepreneur[企业家]. Just ask 13-year-old Shubham Banerjee.
  The California eighth-grader has launched[开办] a company to develop low-cost machines to print Braille[盲文]. Tech giant Intel Corp. recently invested[投资] in his start-up, Braigo Labs.
  Shubham built a Braille printer with a LEGO robotics kit[成套用具] as a school science fair project in 2014 after he asked his parents a simple question—How do blind people read?“Google it,” they told him.
  Shubham then did some online research and was shocked to learn that Braille printers cost at least $2,000, too expensive for most blind readers, especially in developing countries.
  “I just thought that price should not be there. I know that there is a simpler way to do this,” said Shubham.
  He wants to develop a desktop Braille printer that costs around $350 and weighs just a few kilograms, compared with[与……比较] current models that can weigh more than nine kilograms. The machine could be used to print Braille reading materials on paper, using raised dots instead of ink, from a personal computer or electronic[电子的] device[设备].
  “My end goal would probably be having most of the blind people…using my Braille printer,”said Shubham.
  After the “Braigo,” a name that combines[结合] Braille and LEGO, won numerous[无数的] awards and support from the blind community[团体], Shubham started Braigo Labs with a $35,000 investment[投资] from his father.
  Shubham used the money to build a more advanced[高级的] version of his printer using an off-the-shelf[现成的] desktop printer and a newlyreleased Intel computer chip[芯片]. The new model, Braigo 2.0, can translate electronic text into Braille before printing.
  Intel executives[执行总监] were so impressed with Shubham’s printer that in November they invested in his start-up.
  “He’s solving a real problem, and he wants to go off and disrupt an existing industry. And that’s really what it’s all about,” said Edward Ross, director of Inventor Platforms at Intel.
  “This Braille printer is a great way for people around the world who really don’t have many resources at all to learn Braille and to use it practically,” said Henry Wedler, who is visually impaired[有视觉障碍的] and has become an adviser to Braigo Labs.
  Shubham is too young to be CEO of his own company, so his mother has taken the job, though she admits she wasn’t too supportive when he started the project.
  “I’m really proud of Shubham. What he has thought, I think most adults should have thought about it,” Malini Banerjee said. “And coming out of my 13-year-old, I do feel very proud.”   在硅谷,要成为创业家永远不嫌早,问问13岁的舒布汉姆·班纳吉就知道了。
  这名正在(美国)加利福尼亚州读8年级的学生创办了一家专门开发低成本盲文打印机的公司。科技巨头英特尔公司最近向这家新成立的公司—“Braigo实验室”投资了一笔资金。
  作为2014年学校一次科技展览的项目,舒布汉姆利用一套乐高机器人套装组装了一部盲文打印机。在此之前,他只是问了父母一个简单的问题,这个问题就是—盲人是怎样阅读的?“去谷歌吧,”父母对他说。
  舒布汉姆随后在网上做了一些调查。他惊讶地发现盲文打印机的售价至少要2000美元,对很多盲人读者,尤其是发展中国家的盲人来说太贵了。
  “我只是觉得价钱不应该那么高。我知道肯定有一个简单的方法做到,”舒布汉姆说。
  他希望开发一台售价在350美元左右、重量只有几公斤(现时的盲文打印机重量可超过九公斤)的台式盲文打印机。这种机器可以连接个人电脑或电子设备,在纸上使用凸起的点来打印盲文阅读材料,而不是墨水。
  “我的最终目标也许是让大部分盲人……使用我的盲文打印机,”舒布汉姆说。
  “Braigo”这个名字由“盲文(Braille)”和“乐高(Lego)”结合而成。在Braigo赢得了无数奖项和盲人团体的支持后,舒布汉姆用父亲投资的35000美元开办了“Braigo实验室”这家公司。
  舒布汉姆用这笔钱制造了一个版本更加先进的盲文打印机,材料是一个现成的台式打印机和英特尔公司新推出的电子芯片。新型号Braigo 2.0可以在打印前就将电子文本翻译成盲文。
  英特尔的执行官们非常欣赏舒布汉姆的打印机,在(去年)11月就投资了他的新公司。
  “他正在处理的是一个很实际的问题。他希望大干一场,颠覆现有行业,这就是关键。”英特尔“发明家平台”的主管爱德华·罗斯这样说道。
  “对世界上那些没有多少资源学习或使用盲文的人来说,这台盲文打印机是很好的工具。”视觉障碍患者亨利·韦德勒这样说道,他是“Braigo实验室”的顾问。
  由于年纪太小,舒布汉姆还不能当自己公司的CEO(首席执行官),于是这个职位就由他的妈妈代劳—尽管她承认在他启动计划的时候,自己并不太支持。
  “我真的为舒布汉姆感到自豪。他想到的,我认为大部分大人都应该想到。”马利尼·班纳吉说。“(这个想法)出自我那13岁的孩子,我确实很自豪。”
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