舒巴姆·班納吉：為視力受損者帶來福音的小小少年

Frank+Kineavy

布萊葉點字法又稱盲文或點字、凸字，是專為盲人（或視力受損者）設計、靠觸覺來感知的文字系統。目前市面上的盲文打印機往往價格昂貴又難以攜帶，令不少視力受損者望而卻步。美國的一位少年在得知這個事實之后，決定用自己的力量對此做出改變。讓我們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，視障人士一直在苦苦尋找最先進的技術來輔助自己進行交流。13歲（編注：英文原文發表于2016年2月）的舒巴姆·班納吉借由一款輕便價廉的盲文打印機，即將為盲人群體的生活帶來巨大的影響。

這位八年級學生將他對樂高的熱愛以及自己高超的科技發明技能結合在一起，正在對這個行業做出改變。在為一個科技展覽會的項目研究視力受損者如何閱讀的過程中，他決定借助名為Mindstorms EV3的一套樂高玩具頭腦風暴出一項新的發明。在自己家的餐桌上，舒巴姆開發出了一款打印機，能將電子設備上的閱讀材料轉碼為用盲文顯示的文檔。接下來，他又取得了進展，將一款3D打印機改裝成了自己最初開發的盲文打印機模型的更新款版本。

他的發明將為許許多多的民眾帶來幫助。根據世界衛生組織的統計，全球各地約有2.85億人在遭受某種形式的視力損傷。

市面上現有盲文打印機的兩大缺點是其重量和價格：平均重20磅（編注：約9.1公斤）左右，估計要2000美元。因此，舒巴姆想讓自己發明的打印機能讓人買得起又便于攜帶，而不是市面上現有的那些又昂貴又笨重的設備。

“我只是覺得價格不應該那么高，”他解釋道，“我知道有更簡單的辦法來做這件事。”

舒巴姆想出的這個點子使得舊金山這一科技中心（編注：指硅谷）的各路人馬紛紛向他涌來，想要參與到這項潛在的突破中。這位年輕創業者的初創公司名為Braigo Labs [Braigo一詞由布萊葉點字法（Braille）和樂高（Lego）這兩個單詞組合而成，得名于該打印機的原始模型采用了樂高玩具]，已經從各種贊助人那里獲得了種子基金，他們都認為舒巴姆的發明具有真正的潛力。這其中就包括英特爾（舒巴姆的父親在那里擔任工程師）的幾位高管，其投資的具體金額并未披露。

“他正在解決一個真正的問題，他想要行動起來，擾亂現有的行業。真的就是這么回事兒。”英特爾發明者平臺總監愛德華·羅斯如是說。

Braigo Labs正在變成一個家族企業， 13歲的舒巴姆是公司的代言人。由于這位少年從法律上來講還不能簽署文件，他就任命自己的母親擔任首席執行官，任命父親擔任董事長。這位年輕創業者的日常生活就是兼顧學業、足球練習以及與潛在的投資者進行會面。

Braigo Labs目前正在開發第三代模型，舒巴姆計劃將其送往多家盲人機構，以獲得反饋。另外，英國皇家盲人協會將派人從英國飛往美國，來對該產品進行初步試驗。

Braigo Labs的創始人舒巴姆拿到風險投資的年紀比Facebook的創始人當年拿到風險投資時還要早六歲，在這一點上他贏了扎克伯格。他用這筆錢組建了一個工程師團隊，來開發新版的模型。

該產品已經獲得了盲人群體的大力支持。

“世界各地有很多人真的完全沒有足夠的資源去學習并實際地應用盲文，這款盲文打印機對他們來說是一種很棒的方式。”亨利·韋德勒表示。這位盲人是化學專業的一位博士在讀學生，也已經成為Braigo Labs的一名顧問。

舒巴姆放棄了這項發明可能會帶給他的潛在經濟回報，而是去生產這樣一種低成本的產品，好讓發展中國家的視力受損者能從他的這項創新中受益。他希望有一天能看到自己的產品成為盲人的標配。

“我的終極目標大概是讓大多數的盲人……都能用上我的盲文打印機。”他說道。

“我真的為舒巴姆感到驕傲。我覺得，他想到的這些東西本該是大多數成年人思考的，”舒巴姆的母親兼Braigo Labs的首席執行官馬利尼·班納吉說，“但這個創意卻來自我13歲的孩子，我真的感到十分驕傲。”

1. Braille [bre?l] n. 布萊葉點字法（法國人Louis Braille在19世紀發明的盲字體系，用凸點符號代替字母）

2. brainstorm [?bre?nst??m] vt. （一群人為解決問題或想出好的點子而）集思廣益，頭腦風暴

3. Mindstorms EV3： 是樂高“頭腦風暴”系列第三代智能機器人，它的最大特點是用戶無需使用計算機就可對其進行編程，從而向其發布各種指令。

4. populace [?p?pj?l?s] n. 大眾；老百姓

5. portable [?p??t?bl] adj. 便攜式的，輕便的，手提式的

6. flock [fl?k] vi. 成群結隊；蜂擁而至

7. startup： 剛成立的公司，新企業

8. seed capital： （用以吸收更多資金的）種子基金

9. backer [?b?k?（r）] n. 贊助人；提供資金者

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

11. venture [?vent??（r）] n. （尤指有風險的）企業，經營項目

12. the face of ...： 某事物的代言人