This Rugged Braille Reader for Kids Has a Built-In Carry Handle - Yanko Design

"Blind students often rely on expensive embossers, special paper, and slow production cycles just to get a few Braille books. Most assistive tools are bulky, fragile, or designed for adults sitting at desks, not children carrying them between crowded classrooms and shoving them into backpacks. There is a clear gap between what visually impaired kids actually need and what most assistive hardware looks and feels like on a daily basis."

"Vembi Hexis is a Braille reader purpose-built for children by Bengaluru-based Vembi Technologies, with industrial design by Bang Design. It turns digital textbooks, class notes, and stories into lines of Braille on demand across multiple Indian languages and English. The device had to be rugged enough for school bags, affordable enough for institutions to buy in quantity, and portable enough that children would actually want to carry it around."

"The device is a compact, rounded rectangle with softened corners and thick bumpers that make it feel closer to a rugged tablet than a medical device. The front face is dominated by a horizontal Braille display bar, with a small speaker grille and simple control buttons kept out of the way. Branding is minimal, just small HEXIS and VEMBI marks, so the object reads as a tool for kids first rather than a piece of institutional equipment."

Vembi Hexis is a child-focused Braille reader that converts digital textbooks, class notes, and stories into on-demand Braille across multiple Indian languages and English. The device emphasizes portability, affordability for institutions, and durability for use in school environments. Industrial design choices include a compact rounded rectangle form, thick corner bumpers, a horizontal Braille display bar, a small speaker grille, and simple control buttons. A built-in carry handle and a sculpted reading surface guide fingers along lines and indicate stopping points without visual feedback. The device targets the gap left by bulky, fragile, adult-oriented assistive hardware and costly embossing workflows.

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