When Lingampalli Himaja visited a school for visually impaired students as part of a college programme, one student’s struggle with Braille writing stayed with her. The girl was using a traditional slate and pin, pressing hard enough to repeatedly punch letters into paper that her fingertip had become hardened. Himaja, a BTech student at Shri Vishnu Engineering College for Women, also observed that students had to understand the mirrored orientation of Braille while writing so that the letters could be read correctly after the paper was turned over.

Rather than treating the difficulty as an isolated challenge, Himaja began exploring how engineering could simplify the process. Her first prototype was a Braille printer with six push buttons that allowed users to manually enter Braille. The machine converted the input into dots and punched them onto paper in reverse, demonstrating that the basic concept was technically possible. Then came a question from the student who had inspired the project: “Why should we give the input manually when we can simply speak?”

From Manual Input To Voice Commands

That question led Himaja to redesign the system around speech. The result was RUDHRA, a voice-enabled Braille printing system that converts spoken words into embossed Braille.

RUDHRA is integrated with Alexa. A user can issue a voice command to open the system and then speak the text they want printed. Alexa converts the speech into text, which is then processed by a Raspberry Pi. The computer converts the text into the corresponding Braille pattern, after which the machine punches the dots onto paper in reverse so that they appear in the correct orientation when the sheet is turned over.

The basic process is therefore voice to text, text to Braille pattern and finally physical Braille on paper. But translating digital text into accurately positioned tactile dots presented a significant engineering challenge.

Precision Was Key To The Prototype

Himaja identified accuracy as one of the biggest technical hurdles, particularly the need to maintain precise distances between individual Braille characters. The prototypes underwent several changes, including modifications to the arrangement of solenoids and mathematical calculations to ensure that each dot was punched at the correct position and could be read through touch.

The project was also shaped by conversations with students at the school. During her visit, another student spoke to Himaja about the difficulty of identifying different rupee notes while making payments. The experience reinforced her view that the challenge was not simply about access to technology, but about creating practical tools for everyday independence.

“They have their own special abilities, and what they need is not sympathy but solutions that make everyday tasks easier for them,” Himaja said.

That idea became central to the way she approached RUDHRA. Instead of designing a system around what visually impaired students might lack, she focused on reducing the practical barriers they encounter in routine activities.

RUDHRA Wins National James Dyson Award

Himaja, 20, is pursuing a BTech in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. Outside academics, she is a Kuchipudi dancer and guitarist and has also been involved in student leadership, project coordination and technical initiatives.

RUDHRA has now won her the 2026 India National Winner title at the James Dyson Award, an international student design competition run by the James Dyson Foundation. She will receive approximately Rs 6 lakh and represent India in the international round, where Sir James Dyson will select the final winners.

Himaja said she was unaware of the award when she initially applied. After finishing an examination, she noticed missed calls from the James Dyson Award and called back. Her mother then told her that she had won.

“I was completely blank. I was not even able to realise that I had won,” she recalled.

From Award-Winning Prototype To Personal Printer

For Himaja, the award is not the end of the project but an opportunity to develop RUDHRA further. The current prototype costs around Rs 1.5 lakh, but she estimates that a redesigned version could eventually be produced for around Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000.

She also plans to make the machine smaller and lighter by changing the mechanism through which paper moves through the system. Her broader goal is to turn RUDHRA into a personal Braille printer that students can use independently at school or at home.

The project has also changed Himaja’s understanding of what engineering can mean beyond classrooms, examinations and placements. “It is about taking the knowledge we learn and using it to solve problems that actually affect people’s lives,” she said.

Long or Short, get news the way you like. No ads. No redirections. Download Newspin and Stay Alert, The CSR Journal Mobile app, for fast, crisp, clean updates!

App Store –  https://apps.apple.com/in/app/newspin/id6746449540 

Google Play Store – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.inventifweb.newspin&pcampaignid=web_share