The latest deserving idea to receive the Proto Labs Cool Idea! Award, is a Braille labeler by Silicon Valley-based innovation laboratory 6dot. The labeler aims to solve a persistent challenge among the 37 million people around the world without sight: identifying everyday objects. To a blind person, navigating familiar environments can be a tremendous obstacle, as objects such as cans of food (is it chicken soup or dog food?) and medicine containers can feel indistinguishable from each other. 6dot’s labeler uses an embossing mechanism to create adhesive labels with Braille characters to help people without sight maneuver more easily in their environments.

The portable, elegant design of the 6dot Braille Labeler has made it popular with testers and users alike. 6dot hopes that beyond helping people without sight navigate everyday environments, the device will also have an impact on improving the Braille literacy rate. Braille literacy rates, currently hovering at an all-time low of around 20 percent, are linked to high rates of unemployment. The intuitive, lightweight design of the labeler opens the door for children to learn Braille at a younger age by giving them a tool they can manage. Early Braille literacy has a positive correlation to employment among the blind and visually impaired later in life.

“We were inspired by the potential and simplicity of 6dot’s product,” said Proto Labs founder and CTO Larry Lukis. “Not only does it break down access barriers to Braille education, but it also helps millions of people without sight get around with greater ease and convenience. We were eager to offer our injection-molding services to a cool product idea with an even cooler vision behind it.”

“We’d heard good things about Proto Labs through the Silicon Valley hardware development community, so we knew we’d found a good fit when we discovered the Proto Labs’ Cool Idea! program,” said 6dot CEO and founder Karina Pikart. “We believe in using engineering and design to stamp out limitations that don’t need to be there in the first place. Our labeler, through the help of the Cool Idea! program, has the potential to help millions of people learn Braille sooner and navigate everyday life more easily.”

Cool Idea! Award is an award program offered by Proto Labs that gives product designers the opportunity to bring innovative products to life. In 2012, Proto Labs expanded the program’s reach to include the European Union, and is now offering up to $250,000 of prototyping and short-run production services. For more information, visit www.protolabs.com/coolidea.

Proto Labs
www.protolabs.com