Former AWARD School student’s Lights for the Blind concept now showing at Customs House

Former AWARD School Sydney student Rob Caslick’s innovative application of LED for Braille code is on display at Customs House in Sydney until January 31, 2011.

Why do we need LED Braille? If you are able to read this, chances are you do not rely upon, or even notice, that Braille exists throughout the public domain as part of wayfaring signage systems. It is not easy to see. Braille signage is there for those who feel their way.

Now, thanks to Rob Caslick, the potential to improve the visibility of Braille signage systems has emerged. This innovation is designed to assist people with blindness to locate the signage across space.

The exhibition, sponsored by Medland Metropolis, and supported by Vision Australia and the City of Sydney showcases 16 panels of quotes, anecdotes and instructional messages that demonstrate how the technology functions.

The LED’s, which remain cool, can be touched and hence read as Braille.

This simple system, which can be retrofitted to many lit signage systems, has the power to transform wayfaring and accessibility for people with blindness.

Proving that good karma really works, Ray Black (pictured top with Caslick), AWARD School founder, who gave Caslick a scholarship, said: “As a friend and AWARD School mentor for Rob, I went along to congratulate him on the opening of his exhibition. ABC TV was there taping Rob and his exhibition for a forthcoming piece for the Inventors programme.

“Rob’s concept is not just a wonderful idea, it is the application of creativity with great social worth. It demonstrates the infinite paths a creative person can take to find great ideas that can enrich peoples’ lives. I encourage everyone to go and see this exhibition.”

After graduating from AWARD School, Caslick applied for a position in The Milan Design School (Scuola Politecnica di Design).

Says Caslick: “To be accepted into the Masters of Industrial Design Course, I was asked to submit a creative folio of my work. Being an engineer and then social worker I hadn’t done any design work so I submitted my AWARD School portfolio. The  board of selectors loved it and decided to accept me and attended there in 2009.

“The concept I came up with during the course was LED Braille. The idea came after discovering that 90% of people who are blind see light. AWARD taught me an invaluable lesson of constantly bringing the thought process back to the ‘big idea’. I didn’t want to create another designer light fitting. LED Braille is a light that assists people who are blind locate and read Braille”.

Caslick’s design topped the class in Milan.

Where did this idea come from? While working on his design brief for a light, he visited the local Blind Institute where he researched blindness and through this, came across a statistic from the World Health Organisation: among the 160 million people diagnosed as blind, 90% have some light perception.

This changed the trajectory of Rob’s work, leading him to investigate lighting as a sensory communication. Here he pioneered the use of LED lights for Braille- the tips of the LED lights don’t heat up meaning they can be touched and read as LED – lit Braille.

With an exhibition in Milan under his belt, Rob has now developed a prototype for the Australian marketplace which is now on exhibition at Customs House in Sydney’s CBD until January 31, 2011.