DOT. The first Braille Smartwatch.

Describe your project. What is it, what was the elevator pitch?
Dot is the first Braille Smartwatch. Using innovative, patented technology to reduce size, weight, cost, and energy consumption by more than ten times, it disrupts the assistive tech market and brings new possibilities to millions of blind and visually impaired people worldwide.

What key challenges did you face with this project? And how did you overcome them?
The challenge was to relate to the user experience of blind and visually impaired people. We overcame this by working closely with blind and visually impaired people from around the world, and listening carefully to their feedback.

What was the most rewarding aspect of working on your project?
The moment when people get in touch with the Dot Smartwatch for the first time. It's very clear that this product will change their lives.

Why this particular cause as the subject of your project/campaign?
There are 285 million blind and visually impaired people worldwide. Braille literacy has gone down below 10%, even though it’s an important factor in education, social life, and employment. We wanted to develop a product to counteract that trend.

What did you learn from working on this project that you didn't know going into it? Did anything come out of it that surprised you, or that you weren't expecting?
We learned so much about the life of blind and visually impaired people. But foremost was the incredible power and optimism they have to make the best of their situation, and the genius solutions they have already developed for the many obstacles in their everyday lives.