舒巴姆·班纳吉：为视力受损者带来福音的小小少年

Frank+Kineavy

布萊叶点字法又称盲文或点字、凸字，是专为盲人（或视力受损者）设计、靠触觉来感知的文字系统。目前市面上的盲文打印机往往价格昂贵又难以携带，令不少视力受损者望而却步。美国的一位少年在得知这个事实之后，决定用自己的力量对此做出改变。让我们一起去看看他是如何做的吧！

For years， people with disabilities have been desperately searching for the most advanced technology to assist them with communicating. 13-year-old Shubham Banerjee is on his way to making a substantial impact on the lives of the blind community—with a lightweight， low-cost Braille printer.

The eighth-grader is shaking up the industry by incorporating his passion for Legos with his advanced scientific skills. Upon researching how the visually-impaired read for a science fair project， Shubham decided to brainstorm2） a new invention using a Lego set called Mindstorms EV33）. At his home&apos；s kitchen table， Shubham developed a printer that translates reading material from an electronic device onto a document in Braille. He then advanced from converting a 3D printer into a newer version of his original model.

His invention would serve a vast populace4）： an estimated 285 million people around the world suffer from some type of vision impairment， according to the World Health Organization.

Two of the most notable flaws in current Braille printers on the market are their weight and cost： averaging at about 20 pounds， they cost an estimated $2，000. So rather than the bulky and expensive devices that are currently on the market， Shubham wanted to make his printer both affordable and portable5）.

"I just thought that price should not be there，" he explained. "I know that there is a simpler way to do this."

What Shubham came up with has the San Francisco technology center flocking6） to him to be a part of this potential breakthrough. The young entrepreneur&apos；s startup7）， Braigo Labs （a combination of "Braille" and "Lego，" named for the original model&apos；s incorporation of Legos）， already obtained seed capital8） from various backers9） who think his invention has real potential. This includes an undisclosed10） sum from executives at Intel， where Shubham&apos；s father works as an engineer.

"He&apos；s solving a real problem， and he wants to start and disrupt an existing industry. And that&apos；s really what it&apos；s all about，" Edward Ross， director of Inventor Platforms at Intel said.

Braigo Labs is turning into a family venture11）， with 13-year-old Shubham as the face of12） the company. Since the teenager legally cannot sign documents， he has appointed his mother as the CEO， with his father heading the board. A typical day for the young entrepreneur includes balancing school， football practice and meetings with potential investors.

Braigo Labs is currently working on its third model， which Shubham plans to send to various blind institutions for feedback. In addition， the Royal National Institute of Blind People will be flying from Britain to test run the product.

The founder of Braigo Labs has beaten Facebook founder， Mark Zuckerberg， by six years to gain venture backing13）. He used the money to build a team of engineers to develop an updated model.

There has been overwhelming support for this product from the blind community.

"This Braille printer is a great way for people around the world who really don&apos；t have many resources at all to learn Braille and to use it practically，" said Henry Wedler， a blind chemistry doctorate14） student who has also become an advisor for Braigo labs.

Shubham is forgoing15） the potential economic returns his invention could bring him and rather producing a low-cost product so the vision-impaired community in developing countries can benefit from his innovation. He hopes to one day see his product become the standard for the blind.

"My end goal would probably be having most of the blind people ... using my Braille printer." he said.

"I&apos；m really proud of Shubham. What he has thought， I think most adults should have thought about it，" Malini Banerjee， Shubam&apos；s mother and CEO of Braigo Labs， said. "And coming out of my 13-year-old， I do feel very proud."

多年來，视障人士一直在苦苦寻找最先进的技术来辅助自己进行交流。13岁（编注：英文原文发表于2016年2月）的舒巴姆·班纳吉借由一款轻便价廉的盲文打印机，即将为盲人群体的生活带来巨大的影响。

这位八年级学生将他对乐高的热爱以及自己高超的科技发明技能结合在一起，正在对这个行业做出改变。在为一个科技展览会的项目研究视力受损者如何阅读的过程中，他决定借助名为Mindstorms EV3的一套乐高玩具头脑风暴出一项新的发明。在自己家的餐桌上，舒巴姆开发出了一款打印机，能将电子设备上的阅读材料转码为用盲文显示的文档。接下来，他又取得了进展，将一款3D打印机改装成了自己最初开发的盲文打印机模型的更新款版本。

他的发明将为许许多多的民众带来帮助。根据世界卫生组织的统计，全球各地约有2.85亿人在遭受某种形式的视力损伤。

市面上现有盲文打印机的两大缺点是其重量和价格：平均重20磅（编注：约9.1公斤）左右，估计要2000美元。因此，舒巴姆想让自己发明的打印机能让人买得起又便于携带，而不是市面上现有的那些又昂贵又笨重的设备。

“我只是觉得价格不应该那么高，”他解释道，“我知道有更简单的办法来做这件事。”

舒巴姆想出的这个点子使得旧金山这一科技中心（编注：指硅谷）的各路人马纷纷向他涌来，想要参与到这项潜在的突破中。这位年轻创业者的初创公司名为Braigo Labs [Braigo一词由布莱叶点字法（Braille）和乐高（Lego）这两个单词组合而成，得名于该打印机的原始模型采用了乐高玩具]，已经从各种赞助人那里获得了种子基金，他们都认为舒巴姆的发明具有真正的潜力。这其中就包括英特尔（舒巴姆的父亲在那里担任工程师）的几位高管，其投资的具体金额并未披露。

“他正在解决一个真正的问题，他想要行动起来，扰乱现有的行业。真的就是这么回事儿。”英特尔发明者平台总监爱德华·罗斯如是说。

Braigo Labs正在变成一个家族企业， 13岁的舒巴姆是公司的代言人。由于这位少年从法律上来讲还不能签署文件，他就任命自己的母亲担任首席执行官，任命父亲担任董事长。这位年轻创业者的日常生活就是兼顾学业、足球练习以及与潜在的投资者进行会面。

Braigo Labs目前正在开发第三代模型，舒巴姆计划将其送往多家盲人机构，以获得反馈。另外，英国皇家盲人协会将派人从英国飞往美国，来对该产品进行初步试验。

Braigo Labs的创始人舒巴姆拿到风险投资的年纪比Facebook的创始人当年拿到风险投资时还要早六岁，在这一点上他赢了扎克伯格。他用这笔钱组建了一个工程师团队，来开发新版的模型。

该产品已经获得了盲人群体的大力支持。

“世界各地有很多人真的完全没有足够的资源去学习并实际地应用盲文，这款盲文打印机对他们来说是一种很棒的方式。”亨利·韦德勒表示。这位盲人是化学专业的一位博士在读学生，也已经成为Braigo Labs的一名顾问。

舒巴姆放弃了这项发明可能会带给他的潜在经济回报，而是去生产这样一种低成本的产品，好让发展中国家的视力受损者能从他的这项创新中受益。他希望有一天能看到自己的产品成为盲人的标配。

“我的终极目标大概是让大多数的盲人……都能用上我的盲文打印机。”他说道。

“我真的为舒巴姆感到骄傲。我觉得，他想到的这些东西本该是大多数成年人思考的，”舒巴姆的母亲兼Braigo Labs的首席执行官马利尼·班纳吉说，“但这个创意却来自我13岁的孩子，我真的感到十分骄傲。”

1. Braille [bre?l] n. 布莱叶点字法（法國人Louis Braille在19世纪发明的盲字体系，用凸点符号代替字母）

2. brainstorm [?bre?nst??m] vt. （一群人为解决问题或想出好的点子而）集思广益，头脑风暴

3. Mindstorms EV3： 是乐高“头脑风暴”系列第三代智能机器人，它的最大特点是用户无需使用计算机就可对其进行编程，从而向其发布各种指令。

4. populace [?p?pj?l?s] n. 大众；老百姓

5. portable [?p??t?bl] adj. 便携式的，轻便的，手提式的

6. flock [fl?k] vi. 成群结队；蜂拥而至

7. startup： 刚成立的公司，新企业

8. seed capital： （用以吸收更多资金的）种子基金

9. backer [?b?k?（r）] n. 赞助人；提供资金者

10. undisclosed [??nd?s?kl??zd] adj. 未披露的；未公开的；保密的

11. venture [?vent??（r）] n. （尤指有风险的）企业，经营项目

12. the face of ...： 某事物的代言人