Braillecast

Hosted by Braillists Foundation

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Episodes

161

Latest episode

Jun 2026

Language

EN-GB

About the show

Celebrating braille and keeping braillists informed with exclusive interviews, independent reviews, comprehensive demonstrations, clear presentations, thought-provoking commentary and up-to-the-minute braille news.

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60 recent

June 12, 202620 min

Stay In Command: Customising Keyboard Shortcuts on Your iPhone or iPad (Extra 85)

Did you know you can connect a Bluetooth keyboard or braille display to any iPhone or iPad? It’s a great way of improving your productivity and efficiency. However, there are some features which don’t have a keyboard shortcut assigned to them by default, and others where the default keyboard shortcut is hard to remember or difficult to press. In this episode, we bring you highlights of a seminar recorded at Sight Village London in which Matthew Horspool shows you how to customise your keyboard or braille display shortcuts so that your iPhone or iPad best meets your individual needs, and shares some strategies for ensuring you can remember which shortcut you chose. The podcast heard during the demonstration of changing the magic tap keystroke was Double Tap.

June 10, 20261 hr 40 min

The New Braille Features in iOS and iPad OS 26, Part 2: Braille Access (Extra 84)

Apple released the latest versions of its flagship operating systems, including iOS and iPad 26 for the popular iPhone and iPad product lines, in September 2025. Amongst the many new features are a significant number of improvements for braille users in VoiceOver, the built-in screen reader. In this, the second part of a two-part series, Matthew Horspool will devote the entire session to Braille Access, a new notetaker-like experience for connected braille displays. He will talk about: Launching apps and items Taking, reading and managing braille notes Reading and transferring BRF files The braille clock and calculator Live braille captions Braille Access settings Configuring braille keyboard commands for Braille Access Chapter marks have been added to aid navigation. Links of Interest The incredible Braille Access function in iOS and Mac 26 that turns your Braille display with a keyboard in to a Braille Note Taker | iSee - Using various technologies from a blind persons perspective Using Braille Access via Voiceover on the Mac, continuation of last podcast re Braille Access on iOS with VoiceOver | iSee - Using various technologies from a blind persons perspective What's New in iOS 26 Accessibility for Blind and DeafBlind Users | AppleVis Bridging Access to Braille: An In-Depth Look at Braille Access on iOS 26 | AppleVis iOS 26 and Braille Access: Apple's Impressive Investment in Braille Literacy | Braille Monitor December 2025 What's new in iOS 26 | Access On: the Technology Podcast of the National Federation of the Blind

June 8, 20261 hr 33 min

The New Braille Features in iOS and iPad OS 26, Part 1 (Extra 83)

June 5, 202640 min

Unveiling Canute Scientific from Bristol Braille Technology (Episode 76)

Join Ed Rogers of Bristol Braille Technology as he lifts the lid on Canute Scientific, the next generation of multi-line braille technology designed specifically for blind people working, studying or exploring Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). Based on the already popular Canute Console multi-line braille workstation, but with an upgraded system board, new chassis, greater connectivity options, roadmap for future development and a suite of custom applications designed with feedback and advice from braille readers at the forefront, BBT truly believes this is their best product to date. IN this episode, Ed will: Explain how Canute Scientific came to be and who will benefit most from it Describe the physical layout and appearance of Canute Scientific and how it differs from Canute Console Introduce Canute Scientific’s operating system and user interface Demonstrate some of the applications developed specifically for Canute Scientific Outline which features will also be available to Canute Console owners Explain the upgrade options available to owners of Canute Console and Canute 360 With thanks to Bristol Braille Technology CIC for sponsoring this episode. Links of Interest Raspberry Pi 4 Model B specifications (Canute Console) Raspberry Pi 5 specifications (Canute Scientific) Bristol Braille Technology on YOuTube

June 3, 202647 min

IN Conversation with Scott Erichsen (Episode 75)

Regular Braillecast listeners will know that I visited Australia and New Zealand in 2024, and we featured a number of interviews from that trip in the weeks that followed. One interview that we didn't feature at the time was with Scott Erichsen, an Australian assistive technology expert, musician and all round braille enthusiast. As a musician, he is an accomplished jazz and classical pianist and regularly accompanies other musicians in concerts, exams and recordings. He qualified in jazz piano at Sydney Conservatorium of Music. His technology career began when a UK company, T and T Consultancy, expanded its operations into Australia in the late 2000s. After being the figurehead of that operation for several years, he enjoyed positions at Quantum RLV, Pacific Vision International, Vision Australia, Next Sense, HumanWare, Guide Dogs Australia and the National Disability Insurance Agency, which administers the National Disability Insurance Scheme. In this fascinating conversation, we discover more about Scott's musical and technological career, the part that braille plays in his life and work, and his perspective on the future of braille technology. Links of Interest MuseScore Studio Sao Mai Braille MakeBraille Braille Music Editor Dancing Dots Sibelius Hartgen Consultancy Freedom Scientific Optelec Selvas BLV Helptech VisioBraille Bristol Braille Technology Dot, Inc Orbit Research

June 1, 20261 hr 11 min

Irrelevant or Irreplaceable: Is the Perkins Brailler Really so Old-Fashioned? (Episode 74)

The “old-fashioned Perkins” is a term we hear (and perhaps use) a lot. Whilst it is true that it was invented over fifty years ago, the evolution in braille writing in the period leading up to the first Perkins Brailler being sold was immense, with dozens of braille writers coming to market. Some of them survived; some of them have been almost completely forgotten; but all of them have a story to tell. In this episode, we are delighted to be joined by Alan Thorpe, Perkins repair expert and owner of the largest known private collection of heritage braille equipment in the world. We will explore how ideas around braille writing evolved over time, from stylus to Stainsby and beyond, and discover afresh why the Perkins Brailler is considered by many to be a timeless treasure. Visit Eyecan, Alan's company's website

May 31, 202651 min

A History of Tactile Literacy: In Conversation with Tilly Guthrie (Episode 73)

Victorian Britain was a heavily visual era. Sighted people gained access to the Penny Post, and the ability to communicate with friends across the nation with relative ease in an alphabet which was already well-established. On the other hand, for the blind community, many different tactile alphabets were invented simultaneously to address their exclusion from this culture, and blind education was completely decentralised. Tilly Guthrie is a PhD researcher in the history of tactile literacy, specialising in the period between the invention of Braille in the 1820s and its eventual adoption in Britain at the end of the nineteenth century. In this conversation with Braillists Chairman, Dave Williams, she describes some of the tactile alphabets in use at that time and shows how their concurrence affected blind people’s access to culture and community and how blindness was perceived by the sighted. More Information The Braille Heritage page on the Braillists website Email Tilly Guthrie Tilly Guthrie on Bluesky

May 30, 202653 min

World Braille Day 2025: HumanWare (Episode 72)

Most of us by now have heard of the BrailleNote, Brailliant and Mantis, three of the leading braille products manufactured by HumanWare. Last year, they also launched Monarch, their brand new Dynamic Tactile Device, allowing multi-line braille and tactile graphics to be rendered on the same refreshable surface. In this episode, we catch up with Braille Product Manager Andrew Flatres. Links of Interest Tactile Graphic Image Library (TGIL) from the American Printing House for the Blind (APH)

May 29, 202638 min

World Braille Day 2025: Aspire Consultancy (Episode 71)

Many listeners to this podcast will already be familiar with the Orbit Reader, which has been available in the UK since around 2018. Orbit Research have since expanded their product portfolio to include a range of other braille input and output devices. However, RNIB recently took the decision to discontinue Orbit products, leaving many customers anxious and disappointed. One company which has stepped into the breach is Aspire Consultancy, and in this episode, we're joined by its proprietor, Graham Longley.

May 28, 202632 min

World Braille Day 2025: Bristol Braille Technology CIC (Episode 70)

Bristol Braille Technology CIC is a not-for-profit organisation and the inventor of the Canute 360, designed in close collaboration with the Braillists' community as the original affordable multi-line Braille display. Their latest product, the Canute Console Premium, is a tactile workstation for viewing and editing text, tables, charts, vectors, maps and code over nine lines—or 360 cells—of refreshable Braille. In early 2024 we featured a candid conversation with Ed Rogers, Managing Director of BBT, about Canute 360, and as one of our World Braille Day conference sponsors, we are pleased to invite him back to talk more about Canute Console now. We also discussed BBT's role in shaping the Braillists and how this might develop in the future. Other links of interest Multi-Line Braille Displays: So What? A paper written in 2024 by Matthew Horspool, available through the International Council on English Braille Canute Tactile Commons funded by Vietsch Foundation Clovernook Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired Be My AI from Be My Eyes PiccyBot