"It is gratifying that there are people out there who are devoting ingenuity to finding affordable solutions to the sometimes baffling problems of simple everyday living with blindness. Blindness itself is not the problem, it is finding what's in the can or the package before you open it, and locating the book that you need before you scan it into the computer, and identifying the blouse that goes with the pants before you walk out the door."
— Jeanette (Albany, NY)

What is the 6dot?

The 6dot project began in response to the need in the blind community for a portable, easy-to-use braille labeler. Without labels embossed in Braille, identifying common household objects can be a tremendous challenge. A typical home or office contains many medication bottles, canned goods, CDs, file folders, and AC adapters, among other similarly-shaped items, all of which cannot be specifically selected by touch alone. The consequences of choosing the wrong item can range from the mere inconvenience of changing a CD to the extreme danger of taking the wrong medication. Having been introduced to the need for a cheap, easy-to-use labeler by a personal friend in the blind community, the 6dot team began development work on the 6dot Braille Labeler in the fall of 2008.

Judy Dixon smiles as she rests a hand on the first Braille Labeler prototype.
Judy Dixon, author of Label It.

The 6dot Labeler is currently:

  • In the prototype phase, and not yet available for purchase
  • Protected by a provisional US patent
  • Trying to reach full production: if your company is interested in working with us to develop the 6dot labeler into a product, please contact us
Hands typing a long label on the newest 6dot prototype
User Testing

The 6dot Braille Labeler has already received much recognition:

  • Winner of the People's Choice Award of the James Dyson Award, a global competition recognizing innovation and creativity to solve a problem
  • First-place winner of the MIT DeFlorez awards for innovation
  • Winner of the MIT IDEAS award for service of a community in need
  • MIT Product Engineering Process (2.009) final presentation
  • Attended the California Transcribers and Educators of the Visually Handicapped (CTEVH) conference in San Francisco, March 12 -15, 2009
  • Showcased by SolidWorks at the SolidWorks World conference, February 9 - 11, 2009
  • Received its own entry in the SolidWorks blog
Photos by T. Shannon, Kari Husby


Last updated: Jan 26, 2010