A Kindle-style Braille e-reader for blind and partially sighted people could make reading text and working with graphs easier for millions suffering from sight problems.

Researchers at the University of Michigan are developing a refreshable device that will be capable of displaying pages of the raised bumps, which can be read by touch.

While refreshable Braille displays are already available, they are limited by the amount of text they can display, often to only a single line of text at a time.

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Researchers at the University of Michigan are developing a refreshable device which, when available, would be capable of displaying pages of the raised bumps, which can be read by touch. The 'Braille Kindle' (artist's impression illustrated) could make reading text and working with graphs easier for millions

The Braille alphabet enables blind and partially sighted people to read by tracing lines of raised bumps with their fingers.

Led by Dr Sile O'Modhrain, an associate professor of information at the University of Michigan, the team are developing a full page refreshable Braille tablet that works much like the e-Ink used in Kindles and other e-reading devices.

They say it will allow people to feel entire pages of text while also helping to display tactile graphs and even graphics.

'Imagine having a Kindle, that isn't a visual Kindle, but instead has a tactile surface that can be read by a person who is blind, using Braille,' explained Dr O'Modhrain.

Current Braille readers are expensive, with cost of a single device running into thousands of pounds and cannot be easily used while on the move.

A device that produces single line of Braille at a time starts around the £2000 mark ($3000), with a full page Braille display costing in the region of £38,000 ($55,000).

The concept is based around a pneumatic system. The device uses either air or fluid to push up small plastic pins from an 8 x 7 grid, forming Braille letters (pictured left). The result is a bubbled surface which could represent a while page of text yet is small and portable, like a Kindle (stock image right)

The team at the University of Michigan are aiming to develop an accessible, and much more affordable and portable device and have revealed their progress in a video.

THE BRAILLE KINDLE Refreshable Braille readers already exist, but the technology is expensive. A single line of Braille starts around the £2000 mark ($3000), with a full page Braille display costing in the region of £38,000 ($55,000). The system being developed by researchers at Michigan can use either air or fluid to push up small plastic pins from a grid, forming Braille letters. The result is a bubbled surface which could represent a while page of text. Advertisement

'You can't do much with a single line,' said Alexander Rossomanno, a graduate student research assistant in Dr O'Modhrain's lab.

'It's hard to read for one... but also, you can't do things like graphs, you can't do spreadsheets, you can't do any kind of spatially distributed information.'

The Michigan group have transferred the same dots of Braille to an entirely pneumatic system, which can use either air or fluid to push up small plastic pins from an 8 x 7 grid, forming Braille letters.

The result is a bubbled surface which could represent a while page of text.

Dr O'Modhrain said: 'That means that we're able to produce a display that's a lot cheaper than existing displays which rely on electronics.'

Using this approach means the technology doesn't need to worry about wiring or putting together series' of individual mechanical components.

'We just build up layers of bubbles,' she explained.

Available readers are expensive, with the cost of devices running into thousands of pounds. A single line of Braille starts around the £2000 mark ($3000), with a full page Braille display costing in the region of £38,000 ($55,000). Pictured is a single line refreshable Braille device

The biggest difficulty faced by the team is controlling the thousands of pneumatic pumps needed to create an entire page of text, while keeping the entire device small enough to be portable.

The group are reported to be working on a potential solution to this problem, which would enable them to pack in all the technology into a small device.

Dr O'Modhrain added: 'One of the consequences of blind people not being able to access Braille, is that they're limited in terms of the kind of scientific or mathematical things they can do in their access to spatially displayed information.

'And even being able to do something fun, like see a graphic that represents performance statistics for their football team over the last year.

'That's something that people with vision do all the time, and it would be really nice to think that we could actually bring that back.'

Sile O'Modhrain (pictured), an associate professor of information at Michigan, is leading the team at Michigan to develop a full page refreshable Braille device, which will be able to display full pages of text which can be refreshed under computer control

The project, which started in 2013, has a projected end date of September this year.

Accessibility technology has been used for a number of years, with screen reader programmes commonly used by blind and partially sighted people to read text out loud and describe images and visual elements.

Other groups are working on taking these readers further, incorporating cameras to enable users to read non-Braille books.

Commenting on the research, head of solutions strategy and planning at the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), Steve Tyler, told MailOnline: 'RNIB welcomes any innovation in the area of braille display development.

'There are a number of exciting projects currently in progress which address the technical and cost challenges of delivering new methods of braille access.'

Mr Tyler added: 'Braille is a vital tool for blind and partially sighted people, giving them access to the printed word, as well as the key benefits it brings around literacy and personal communication.'