analogue watches for the blind / tactile analog watches

Analogue watches for the blind are equipped with a hinged lid that can be opened to allow the position of the hands to be felt. A second hand is omitted, as this would interfere with the ability to feel the time. Instead, tactile dots or lines facilitate direction recognition.



Even if these clocks make reading easier with dots, they are not Braille watches. These dots do not represent Braille numerals.

Unfortunately, in English-speaking countries, the term Braille is often used as a pseudonym for blind people - anything that has tactile dots is automatically given the suffix "Braille", even if it has nothing to do with Braille.


This old pocket watch attempted to display the numerals in Braille. However, since these are arranged radially, they are not a real reading aid for blind people.

Braille watch or analog watch, that is the question.

digital watches for the blind / tactile digital watches

But even if the time is represented by dots, it is not automatically a Braille watch:

This digital watch for the blind shows the time with 2 x 4 dots.

The time is calculated as follows (hours above, minutes below):

dots	Braille character	hour	minutes
none	empty	12	0
1	a	1	5
4	"	2	10
5	~	3	15
2	,	4	20
14	c	5	25
45	>	6	30
25	:	7	35
12	b	8	40
15	e	9	45
24	i	10	50
1245	g	11	55
(Braille dot numbering was used)

The system has nothing to do with Braille, but is a simple coding of the twelve digits of an analog clock. This coding results in a 12-hour display accurate to the nearest five minutes (no distinction between morning and afternoon).

the current time according to this system (Display changes every 5 minutes [center] or 5 seconds [right]):				(h m s)
the current time according to this system

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Another option is the tactile representation of the 7-segment display:

mechanical display of seven segments per digit

In the right picture you can see a 09, hour and minute are displayed one after the other or after switching.

(Design study by Matthew Wagerfield)

And for displaying confusion-free texts with 7-segment displays:
the 7-segment alphabet Siekoo by Alexander Fakoó

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Other variants are also conceivable ... for example a tactile Fakoo watch as watch for the blind:


(also suitable for sighted people)

tactile Braille watches

In real Braille watches, the numbers are represented by Braille characters. Since the numbers 1 to 0 correspond to the letters a to j, and these only require the top four of the six possible dots, a maximum of 4 dots is needed for each digit on the Braille watch. (4-dot Braille display)


Braille clocks are usually for blind people, but then the dots must be tactile.

This is what a real Braille clock would look like:

Description of the Haptica Watch by David Chavez:
The Haptica Watch is a wristwatch with a Braille display.
The display consists of four Braille characters, each with four dots for the hours and minutes. Each of these individual Braille characters is formed by rotating four rotating discs arranged in a square, each with a single dot, so that the corresponding Braille character is centered.
Each disc can assume exactly two positions: the dot is visible, or the dot disappears beneath the upper or lower cover.
The upper and lower covers run horizontally, leaving a strip for tactile detection of the currently visible dots.


(Design study by David Chavez, San Fransisco,
the financing of the production failed)


My version with two dots per disc:

Fakoo's mechanical Brаille watch:

(Cover here transparent)

......animation end.........
Description of the animated mechanical Braille clock:
The clock consists of 6 Braille characters, each with 4 dots for the hours, minutes, and seconds. Each of these individual Braille characters is formed by rotating two rotating discs arranged one above the other (!), each with only two adjacent dots, so that the corresponding Braille character is formed at the point of contact.
Each disc can assume exactly four positions: both dots on top (similar to a C), both dots on the left (similar to a B), both dots on the right (similar to a >), or both dots on the bottom (similar to a -).
The upper parts of the upper discs and the lower parts of the lower discs are covered so that only the open dots in the middle can be felt. Thus, the upper discs represent dots 1 and 4, respectively, and the lower discs represent dots 2 and 5, respectively, of the respective Braille digit.

And with a second display for demonstration.



Due to high production costs and their  high sensitivity  to dirt, water, and mechanical influences, Braille clocks for the blind are rarely produced. Affordable alternatives include analog or talking clocks.

4-dot Braille (four-dot Braille)?

(the false Perkins patent)

In 1885, William Perkins (not the namesake of the Perkins Brailler) filed a US patent for a four-key typewriter for the blind. This patent is not the well-known Perkins Brailler:

1. The patent was granted to William Perkins; the later Perkins Brailler is named after Thomas H. Perkins.
2. The 1885 patent describes a four-key typewriter that is not suitable for Braille.
3. The well-known Perkins Brailler was not marketed until 1951, built by David Abraham at the Perkins School for the Blind.

This four-point typewriter for the blind was primarily used to create tactile graphics or similar.

This machine is not for Braille!



Braille cannot be displayed with the 4 dots because only 15 characters are possible.

(Therefore, four dots can only be used for the time or other numeric codes)

vibration watches

Vibration watches can transmit the time very discreetly because vibration noise is minimal. The digits can be displayed using Morse code or other codes.

This utopian-looking vibration watch "Meteor" only requires three buttons to display the time in the simplest way. Setting the time is also done using just these three buttons.



The first button displays the hours (1 - 12), the second the tens of minutes (0 - 5) and the third button the minutes (0 - 9) in the following form (12-hour display):

0	no signal
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

acoustic watches or speaking watches

Talking clocks are the first choice for those blind people who either do not (yet) know Braille or who have problems with tactile perception for various reasons.

 

But visually impaired people and even sighted people are increasingly benefiting from technological advances in the field of voice output. Voice output makes many devices easier to operate or even makes them possible (talking scales, color recognition devices, and many more). Anyone who has the time announced at night doesn't even need to open their eyes; they simply press a button.