Growing up as a sighted person in a visually impaired community in Thailand, Songpakorn Punong-ong has always been acutely aware of the struggles people with blindness face. Over two billion of the world’s population has a vision impairment, yet braille resources continue to be both limited and expensive. Punong-ong went on to pursue a degree in electronics engineering, where he was inspired to invent a device that can turn any text to braille.
“It’s now my mission to use my engineering skills to create technologies for equal opportunities,” Punong-ong says. His father, who is blind, founded a school for visually impaired people. As Punong-ong spent time here, he realised the expense of producing braille books and began searching for alternatives. “No matter your sight capabilities, reading shouldn’t be a luxury,” he says. The ReadRing is Punong-ong’s award-winning innovation, opening the doors to information and knowledge for braille users. The size of a computer mouse, the ReadRing is both affordable and portable. It can be used to read printed texts or wirelessly connect to a computer or cell phone to pick up what’s on screen. Once a user places their finger onto the rotary display, it streams continuous braille to the reader. “With the ReadRing, knowledge is quite literally at your fingertips,” Punong-ong says.
He has uncovered an inexpensive solution to making learning inclusive and attainable for people with visual impairments. The ReadRing gives people the ability to access education and improve their lives. “It makes me so proud to see more blind people become independent and productive,” Punong-ong says.
Footage and photos by ReadRing were used in the creation of this film.
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