Development of a 3D laser printer to produce arbitrary tactile patterns

A three-dimensional (3D) laser printer that easily outputs any arbitrary tactile information has been developed for persons with deaf-blindness. The mechanism of the 3D laser printer is simply constructed with inexpensive linear motors and a semiconductor laser, achieving low cost and less noise compared to the mechanical braille printers, both of which are suitable for official and personal use. The 3D laser printer develops new dimensions in communication by (a) generating tangible letters, e.g., Moon and Kana letters for adventitiously blind persons to whom braille is too difficult, (b) generating braille letters of optimal size for each individual, and (c) producing tactual maps with multi-layer thickness.