Archive · 16 Sep 2026
Student’s Voice-Enabled Braille Printer Wins 2026 James Dyson Award
Himaja Lingampalli is an engineering student who wanted to make writing Braille easier.
She saw visually impaired students use slates and styluses that required strong pressure.
They also had to turn the paper over to read what they had written.
Her first machine used buttons to choose Braille dots.
One student asked why people could not simply speak instead.
Himaja then added voice commands through Alexa.
RUDHRA changes spoken words into Braille and presses raised dots onto paper.
Users can feel the dots and read them without using reverse-writing methods.
The invention won India’s 2026 James Dyson Award and may become cheaper and smaller in the future.
Himaja Lingampalli developed RUDHRA after observing visually impaired students struggle with traditional Braille slates and styluses.
A student’s question prompted her to replace an initial button-based design with voice commands using Alexa.
RUDHRA converts spoken words into text and reverse Braille patterns before embossing raised dots onto paper.
The device can help users create, edit and print Braille documents without learning reverse-writing techniques.
RUDHRA won the 2026 India James Dyson Award, bringing Himaja a Rs 6 lakh prize and a place in the international round.
- Who
- Himaja Lingampalli, a fourth-year BTech student at Sri Vishnu Engineering College for Women, developed RUDHRA.
- What
- RUDHRA is a voice-enabled Braille printer that converts spoken words into embossed Braille documents.
- When
- The device took approximately one-and-a-half to two years to develop and won the 2026 India James Dyson Award.
- Where
- It was developed at Sri Vishnu Engineering College for Women in India and tested with visually impaired students near the college.
- Why
- Himaja designed it to reduce the physical effort and memorization required when using traditional Braille slates and styluses.
- Inventor
- Himaja Lingampalli
- Invention
- RUDHRA, a voice-enabled Braille printing system
- Voice technology
- Alexa converts spoken input into text
- Processing technology
- A Raspberry Pi translates text into reverse Braille patterns
- Award
- 2026 India James Dyson Award
- Prize
- Approximately Rs 6 lakh, or about £5,000
- Cost estimates
- The prototype cost about Rs 1.5 lakh; a student-focused version could cost Rs 50,000–60,000
- Future plans
- Himaja aims to make RUDHRA smaller, lighter and more useful for students and organisations
