News

We sincerely apologize for the problems some of you have experienced following the recent software updates for Orbit Speak and Orbit Player, including the latest hotfix (version 2.3.1.2).

We are aware that, following an update, some devices may become unresponsive and require a forced restart before they can be used again. Unfortunately, this is not a new issue, and we recognize that it has caused considerable frustration and inconvenience over time. We are particularly sorry that it has happened again with this latest release.

If your device is unresponsive after updating, please follow these steps to restart it:

Orbit Speak:

Press and hold the F4 and Up Arrow keys together for approximately 15 seconds, until you feel a vibration or hear a beep. Release the keys and allow the device to restart.

Orbit Player:

Press and hold the Volume Down and Star keys together for approximately 15 seconds, until you feel a vibration or hear a beep. Release the keys and allow the device to restart.

On some older Orbit Player units, use the Home and Star keys instead.

Important: There is no need to open your device or disconnect the battery to force a restart. Please use the key combinations described above. If your device does not restart using these steps, please contact Orbit Research Technical Support for assistance.

We understand that you rely on these devices every day, and that an update should improve your experience, not leave your device unusable. We take this seriously and are working to identify and permanently resolve the underlying issue.

We appreciate your patience, your feedback, and the support you continue to show us. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and frustration this has caused.

We have an experimental NVDA driver for our Canute products. Currently this will work showing 2 lines of Braille. However, with NVDA’s recent work on multiline Braille support for other Braille devices, we’re very keen to push this forward and have it supporting all 9 lines. We’d love to hear from any developers or testers who are able to help us take this forward with a view to releasing a fully functional version as soon as possible.

The driver can be downloaded here:

Canute360.nvda-addon | main | Bristol-Braille / Canute Nvda | GitLab

A special moment for Dot Inc. on Friday, October 9, as our co-founder Ki Kwang Sung accepted the 2026 AccessAbility Award from Helen Keller Services at the Helen Keller National Center in New York.

We were recognized for our efforts to expand tactile access to digital information for people who are blind and DeafBlind. We’re incredibly proud to have this work acknowledged by an organization with such a longstanding commitment to the blind and DeafBlind community. Thank you Helen Keller Services for this honor. Read more.

Selvas North America have published a series of overview videos of the BrailleSense 7.

Go to the playlist on YouTube

Recorded on Wednesday October 14, 2026 with Dot Inc. ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­  

Dot Inc’s Tactile Display API is available as part of the new NVDA Add-On released in September 2026, compatible with NVDA 2026.2 and later, and as an installable component for PC’s running JAWS For Windows version 2026 and later.

Download the Tactile Display API for JAWS

Download the NVDA Add-On

Watch the webinar recording

HumanWare is hosting a series of drop-in events across the UK in partnership with regional and national sight loss organisations.

These events offer a fantastic opportunity to get hands-on experience with HumanWare’s complete Braille product range. A HumanWare representative will be available at each location to demonstrate our latest solutions and answer any questions you may have.

Featured products include:

1. Brailliant BI 20X – our compact and portable Braille display
2. BrailleNote Evolve – a powerful note-taking and productivity solution
3. Monarch – the world’s first dynamic multi-line Braille device, capable of displaying up to ten lines of Braille simultaneously and presenting both text and tactile graphics on the same display

Everyone who attends one of the events in person will be entered into a free prize draw to win a brand-new Brailliant BI 20X.

Here are the events coming up this week:

Monday 19 October

• 10:00 am-12:00 pm: My Vision Oxfordshire, OX1 4XL
• 10:00 am-12:00 pm: RNIB, Grimaldi Building, Pentonville Road, London, N1 9JE
• 10:00 am-12:00 pm: Sight Cymru, Pontypool, NP4 6JH
• 10:00 am-12:00 pm: Guide Dogs Manchester, Gibfield Park Avenue, Manchester, M46 0SU
• 1:30-3:30 pm: NAB Northamptonshire Association for the Blind, NN3 6LF
• 2:00-4:00 pm: Sight Life, Cardiff, CF10 1BR

Tuesday 20 October

• 10:00 am-12:00 pm: Sight for Surrey, KT19 8AG
• 10:00 am-12:00 pm: Herefordshire Vision Links, Hereford, HR4 9EP
• 10:00 am-12:00 pm: Galloways, Morecambe, LA4 4AH
• 10:30 am-12:30 pm: The Mitchell Library, North Street, Glasgow, G3 7DN
• 1:30-3:30 pm: Sensory Matters Worcestershire, Worcester, WR1 1LH
• 2:30-4:30 pm: Portsmouth Adult Group, Portsmouth, PO1 2DX

Wednesday 21 October

• 1:30-3:30 pm: Sensory Solutions, Plymouth, PL3 5QL

If you’re in the Bath area on Saturday 17^th October, Bath Spa University are hosting an open day called Who Programmed This. This is a chance for the general public to see the variety of work BSU are involved in, including using the Canute Scientific.

Who Programmed This? Tech, Tinker, Play at Locksbrook Campus event tickets from TicketSource

Recent developments in braille technology have shone a particular spotlight on NVDA, and in our two-part series last month, we explored its braille support in detail. However, there is more to NVDA than the core screen reader:

Through the use of add-ons, users can benefit from a range of optional NVDA features which have been created by the community. Many add-ons are free and include extra voices, enhancements to existing NVDA functionality, accessibility improvements for specific applications, and new features altogether.

In this session, we will introduce the NVDA Add-On store and demonstrate two braille-related add-ons, PC Braille Keyboard Input and Braille Extender.

Register for NVDA and Braille

To join by phone, please use these details:

• Phone number: 0131 460 1196
• Meeting ID: 811 6921 7374
• Passcode: 123456

HumanWare is hosting a series of drop-in events across the UK in partnership with regional and national sight loss organisations.

These events offer a fantastic opportunity to get hands-on experience with HumanWare’s complete Braille product range. A HumanWare representative will be available at each location to demonstrate our latest solutions and answer any questions you may have.

Featured products include:

1. Brailliant BI 20X – our compact and portable Braille display
2. BrailleNote Evolve – a powerful note-taking and productivity solution
3. Monarch – the world’s first dynamic multi-line Braille device, capable of displaying up to ten lines of Braille simultaneously and presenting both text and tactile graphics on the same display

Everyone who attends one of the events in person will be entered into a free prize draw to win a brand-new Brailliant BI 20X.

Here are the events coming up this week:

Monday 12 October

• 2:00-4:00 pm: Braille IT, Clitheroe Library, BB7 2DG

Wednesday 14 October

• 9:30-11:30 am: Sight Support Worthing, BN11 3JT
• 10:00 am-12:00 pm: Walthew House, Stockport, SK2 6QS
• 10:30 am-1:00 pm: Sight Support Derbyshire, DE22 1BP
• 2:00-4:00 pm: Croydon Vision, CR0 2AR
• 2:00-4:00 pm: My Sight Nottinghamshire, 26-28 Heathcoat Street, Nottingham, NG1 3AA

Thursday 15 October

• 9:30-11:30 am: Vision Norfolk, NR3 3DZ
• 10:30 am-12:30 pm: Bradbury Fields, Liverpool, L14 2EP
• 1:30-3:30 pm: Suffolk Sight, IP1 3BE
• 2:00-4:00 pm: Somerset Sight, Taunton, TA1 1DG

Friday 16 October

• 9:30-11:30 am: Coventry Vision Hub, CV5 6^TH
• 10:30 am-12:00 pm: Dagenham & Redbridge Adult Group
• 1:30-3:30 pm: Bucks Vision, HP19 9HH

Join HumanWare Blindness Product Specialists, Joel and Rachel, as they present a series of webinars walking through the BrailleNote Evolve’s familiar interface, and new and improved menus. Guided by your questions, they will demonstrate the device in a friendly and easy-to-follow manner, so you can see first-hand how the BrailleNote Evolve will fit into your life, and you’ll wonder how you ever got along without it!

Register on Zoom