Bristol Brothers Win International Award for Affordable Braille Printer Designed to Improve Accessibility
Two brothers from Bristol in the United Kingdom have received international recognition for developing an affordable portable Braille printer designed to make printed information more accessible to blind and partially sighted people. Tom Hunt, 19, and his younger brother Felix Hunt, 16, created a device called BrailleGo!, which can be built for approximately £100 using readily available components and 3D-printed parts.
The invention earned the brothers the Best Start-Up Idea award at the 2026 World Robot Olympiad European Open Championship, held in Zagreb, Croatia. They also secured second place in the European and overall rankings in the Senior Future Innovators category. Their achievement has drawn attention to how young engineers can use technology to address everyday accessibility challenges.
Family Experience Inspired the Invention
The idea behind BrailleGo! has a personal connection to the brothers. Their grandfather was a Yorkshire-born engineer who contributed to the early development of the Jodrell Bank Observatory. He lost his sight in his sixties, giving the family a direct understanding of some of the difficulties experienced by people living with sight loss.
The brothers also became more aware of the challenges surrounding Braille access through their mother's volunteering with the Royal National Institute of Blind People. This experience helped them understand that individuals and organisations can face difficulties when trying to obtain printed Braille materials.
Braille is a tactile writing system that enables people with visual impairments to read using raised dots. It plays an important role in education, communication and independent access to information. However, producing printed Braille documents can require specialised equipment that may be expensive for smaller organisations and community groups.
Recognising this gap, Tom and Felix decided to develop a more affordable way to produce short-run Braille materials.
BrailleGo! Offers a Lower-Cost Printing Option
BrailleGo! is a compact and portable Braille printer designed to produce smaller quantities of printed material. The brothers estimate that the device can be built for around £100, making it considerably less expensive than many commercial Braille embossers.
Commercial Braille printing equipment can cost more than £1,000 and may be bulky. These factors can make it difficult for schools, charities, museums and smaller organisations to purchase specialist machines, particularly when they only need to produce a limited number of documents.
The brothers used 3D-printed components and readily available electronic parts to develop their device. Their approach was to create a machine that could be reproduced without requiring the same level of investment as conventional commercial equipment.
BrailleGo! is intended for short-run printing rather than replacing every type of professional Braille production system. Potential uses include children's books, museum guides, public information leaflets and meeting agendas.
Such applications could help organisations provide important information in a format that blind and partially sighted visitors and readers can access independently.
International Recognition at the 2026 World Robot Olympiad
The brothers represented the United Kingdom under the team name Hunt Robotics at the 2026 World Robot Olympiad European Open Championship in Zagreb, Croatia.
The competition took place in October and brought together 220 national-winning teams from 45 countries. This year's theme was Robots Meet Culture, encouraging participants to explore how technology and engineering could improve access to arts, heritage and cultural experiences.
BrailleGo! received the Best Start-Up Idea award. The brothers also achieved second place in both the European and overall rankings in the Senior Future Innovators category.
The judging panel recognised the technical quality of the project, including its 3D design and electronics. The judges also highlighted the brothers' teamwork and their effort to develop a practical solution to a real-world problem.
The pair developed the device independently without support from a coding or maker club. Their achievement demonstrated how young people can apply engineering knowledge, creativity and problem-solving skills to address challenges beyond traditional classroom projects.
For Tom, the recognition was particularly meaningful because of the time and effort involved in designing and building a machine capable of producing readable Braille.
Brothers Plan to Release the Design for Free
Rather than focusing primarily on commercialising the printer, Tom and Felix plan to make BrailleGo! available as an open-source project.
They intend to publish the design files, software code and assembly instructions so that people around the world can build their own versions of the device. Making these resources freely available could allow schools, charities, community organisations and individuals to explore the technology without having to purchase an expensive commercial printer.
An open-source approach also gives other engineers and developers the opportunity to improve the design. Users could adapt the device to meet local requirements, identify ways to reduce production costs and contribute further improvements.
Tom said he was proud that the brothers had developed something affordable that could be genuinely useful. He also expressed hope that other people would build on their work after the plans became publicly available.
Felix described the international competition as a valuable experience, giving him an opportunity to meet teams from different countries and learn about their projects. He said developing BrailleGo! had helped him gain experience in engineering, problem-solving and teamwork.
Accessibility Experts Recognise the Potential
The project has also received positive attention from people working in the sight-loss sector. Eleanor Southwood, Director of Impact and External Affairs at the charity Fight for Sight, praised the concept of an affordable and portable Braille printer.
She highlighted the potential for such a device to help produce smaller quantities of accessible printed material. This could be particularly useful for organisations that need to prepare specific documents for visitors, students or members of the public.
Gareth James, co-founder of STEMpura, which leads the UK's participation in the World Robot Olympiad, also praised the brothers' achievement. He highlighted their ability to identify a genuine problem and develop an engineering solution.
A Technology Project With a Wider Social Purpose
BrailleGo! demonstrates how relatively low-cost engineering can contribute to accessibility and inclusion. While the device is still a developing project, its design could offer an alternative for organisations that need smaller quantities of Braille documents but cannot easily afford specialised printing equipment.
The brothers' decision to release the design as an open-source project could be an important part of its future development. Instead of limiting access to a single product, sharing the technical resources may encourage others to reproduce, adapt and improve the printer.
The project also highlights the role of young innovators in addressing social challenges through practical technology. Tom and Felix combined a personal family experience with engineering skills to develop a device aimed at improving access to information.
Their international award in Zagreb has brought attention to their work, while their plan to share the design could help the idea reach communities beyond Bristol.
If successfully adopted and further developed, BrailleGo! could provide schools, charities, museums and other organisations with another option for producing accessible printed materials at a lower cost.
