How Braille Tactile Writing System was Invented?

Louis Braille being just a teenager used his unusual way of thinking in order to turn an unsuccessful military technology into an internationally accepted means of reading for the blind. Today Louis Braille is believed to be one of the best #teenage inventors in history.


The cryptography technology, which inspired Braille, was thought up to Charles Barbier, and its main idea was to use a font made up by rows of raised imprints in order to send messages to the soldiers. These messages were intended to be read at night, without creating extra sound and light.


Who Invented a Writing System for the Blind - Louis Braille


This system, however, proved to be difficult for soldiers to grasp and studying such font took too much effort. As a result, the practical application of such special technology was not supported by the military.

When Braille learned about the technology, he immediately spotted its main drawback - Barbier in his cryptography font used 12 different raised dots to code each symbol, so it took several touches to recognize only one character.

So Louis Braille, young #French inventor, after reducing the number of possible raised dots to six, started optimizing the system and came up with his own font, which is today known as Braille language and is being used as a tactile writing system in different variations by millions of people worldwide.

Image credits:

1) www.fleming.pro/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Braile-00013545.jpg