What this is
Your phone "writes" braille to you by vibrating. Each letter is one six-dot cell, and the phone walks the dots in a fixed order, 1 to 6: long buzz = raised dot, short tick = empty dot. There is a short pause between letters and a longer one between words.
The long-term idea: a private, quiet channel for notifications and messages, for braille readers who can't always use audio, or don't want to. This is not that yet. It is an experiment to learn whether the protocol is learnable and what speed feels right.
Tips before you start
- Android only (Chrome, Samsung Internet or Firefox). On iPhone, websites have no access to vibration.
- Hold the phone in your hand, not on a table. The screen must stay on while it plays.
- If you use TalkBack, temporarily turn off its vibration feedback: TalkBack settings → Sound and vibration → Vibration feedback. Otherwise the two get mixed up.
- If you feel nothing: check that Do Not Disturb is off and that silent mode doesn't disable vibration. There are test buttons in the settings below.
- Start with the defaults. After a few minutes, try speeding up. Research says accuracy survives acceleration; we want to know if that holds for you.
Try it now
The alphabet
Tap a row to feel that letter. The numbers are the raised dots (uncontracted braille, letters a–z, from the liblouis tables). Without TalkBack you can also slide a finger down the list.
Digits (number sign ⠼ then the letter)
Recognition game
The phone plays a letter and you pick what you felt. Start with three letters and level up.
Touch: dot by dot
The letter's cell is laid out on screen as six circles. Touch a circle: if the dot is raised, the phone vibrates. Without TalkBack you can also drag a finger over the cell.
Timing settings
Quick test
Feedback
Every word helps: what you felt, what confused you, which speed was comfortable, and what you'd want this to do.