Braille is often used in public places as fixed nodes on a sign, or more dynamically as Refreshable Braille displays that use lines of pins that rise and fall to change texts. But there are plenty of problems with both of these. It can be difficult to direct users to begin interacting with them in the first place, limited information can be presented, the moving parts can clog up over time, and, of course, there are hygiene concerns with many people touching the same surface.

HaptiRead is designed to address all of those issues. The system is a panel made up of 256 ultrasound transducers, emitting frequencies of up to 200 Hz – strong enough for a user to feel the pressure on their skin. This kind of technology has previously been put to work to create things like holograms you can touch.