1994.20

APH PocketBraille [Model]

Gissoni, Fred, inventor

Device has a silent seven-key braille keyboard, voice synthesizer, speaker, reverse translator, rechargeable batteries, headphone jack, a Z-80 CMOS microprocessor, over 200K of nonvolatile RAM, and a carrying case.

1988 original production

American Printing House for the Blind.

Louisville, KY

Introduced in 1988 as a portable braille notetaker, powered by rechargeable batteries. The unit accepted input from its built-in keyboard, from cassette tape via an optional interface, or from an optional external memory module. Grade 2 braille could be read back by the unit as normal speech. The unit could also be used as a voice synthesizer for a personal computer. The operating system was written by Larry Skutchan. It was discontinued by 1993. The Pocketbraille was originally conceived and developed by Wayne Thompson and Fred Gissoni at the Kentucky Department for the Blind.

APH Collection, 1994.20