Usability Analysis of the Braille Mechanical Punch for Writing

One area of applied sciences that is continually expanding is the development of rehabilitation assistive technology, specifically equipment designed for people with blindness and visual impairment. Despite the development and use of such devices over the years, several limitations have persisted, including the need for long-term training and usability difficulties of use. These and other shortcomings inspired the designer to develop a tool named the Braille Mechanical Punch (BMP). The purpose of this study was to examine the usability of the BMP and to identify its advantages and disadvantages compared to other writing tools. This research was an experimental study using a mixed-methods design involving 87 blind and visually impaired adults. The results indicated that, first, the BMP has high usability for Braille writing; second, there was no significant correlation between the participants’ age and the usability scores; and third, a set of advantages aligned with the BMP’s primary design intentions, as well as several disadvantages, were identified from the participants’ opinions. The results demonstrated the benefits of using this assistive technology for Braille writing and provide important data for other researchers working on the development of tools for people with visual impairments.