Ingress Braille Keyboard
We are building a physical Braille keyboard for visually impaired students, professionals, and everyday phone users across Africa.
Built to make phone use easier for people who already read and write in Braille.
Access is not only about owning a phone.
A phone can carry schoolwork, messages, services, transport, work opportunities, and family connection. But for many Braille users, writing on the phone still depends on tools that are costly, hard to repair, or difficult to use without touch.
Origin
Where the idea came from
The product story starts with our co-founder, Devine Chidau.
Devine lost his sight when he was four. Braille became part of how he learned, wrote, remembered things, and moved through school.
But when life moved onto smartphones, that familiar way of reading and writing did not move with him.
Other visually impaired students and professionals shared similar experiences. Phones were useful, but using them still meant working through flat screens, gestures, and audio navigation.
Replace this with Devine’s own words about Braille, phone use, or what this keyboard should make easier.
Devine ChidauCurrent tools
Why the gap remains
Braille users already find ways to get things done. The problem is that the available tools are often not priced, repaired, or designed around everyday phone use in local contexts.
Slate and stylus
Low-cost and familiar, but not easy to edit, search, save, or share through a phone.
Braille displays
Useful for digital reading and writing, but often priced beyond what many families, students, and schools can afford.
Phone keyboards
Available on smartphones, but glass does not offer the same physical guidance as Braille keys.
The product
How it works
The Ingress Braille Keyboard connects to a smartphone and supports typing, navigation, notes, calls, messages, and offline text-to-speech.
Connect
Pair the keyboard with a smartphone through Bluetooth or USB-OTG.
Type
Use physical Braille keys instead of relying only on a flat touchscreen.
Navigate
Write messages, make calls, take notes, browse content, and move through phone actions.
Use offline
Built-in text-to-speech supports use in areas with poor connectivity or high data costs.
Who it is for
People who already know Braille and already use phones.
The first users are students, professionals, families, and schools looking for a practical way to bring Braille input into daily phone use.
Students
For schoolwork, notes, messages, reading support, and daily communication.
Professionals
For writing, communication, scheduling, calls, and basic digital tasks.
Families and schools
For a practical device that can fit local budgets and local support needs.