20-year-old Andhra student makes top 20 list for James Dyson Award with voice-enabled Braille printer

By The Hindu Staff

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20-year-old Andhra student makes top 20 list for James Dyson Award with voice-enabled Braille printer — Photo credit: The Hindu

A question posed by a visually impaired student in Bhimavaram—“Why should I type when I can speak?”—inspired 20-year-old engineering student Lingampalli Himaja to develop RUDHRA, a voice-enabled Braille printer, which has recently been shortlisted among the global top 20 finalists for the James Dyson Award 2026.

Ms. Himaja, a student of Vishnu Women’s University in Bhimavaram, developed the device to help visually impaired people create Braille documents independently, eliminating the complexities involved in conventional Braille typing. Her innovation seeks to make writing more accessible and intuitive by enabling users to convert spoken words into Braille.

“The idea took shape during my visit to the school for visually impaired students, where I observed the difficulties they faced while writing in Braille,” she said, speaking to The Hindu on Saturday (October 17, 2026). After developing an initial prototype, the question raised by one of the students prompted her to refine the concept into a voice-enabled printer.

Originally published by The Hindu on Oct 17, 2026 Read the full article at thehindu.com

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