In Silicon Valley, it's never too early to become an entrepreneur. Just ask 13-year-old Shubham Banerjee.

    The California eighth-grader has launched a company to develop low-cost machines to print Braille, the tactile writing system for the visually impaired. Tech giant Intel Corp. recently invested in his startup, Braigo Labs.

    Shubham built a Braille printer with a Lego robotics kit as a school science fair project last year after he asked his parents a simple question: How do blind people read? "Google it," they told him.

    Shubham then did some online research and was shocked to learn that Braille printers, also called embossers, cost at least $2,000 — too expensive for most blind readers, especially in developing countries.

    "I just thought that price should not be there. I know that there is a simpler way to do this," said Shubham, who demonstrated how his printer works at the kitchen table where he spent many late nights building it with a Lego Mindstorms EV3 kit.

    Shubham wants to develop a desktop Braille printer that costs around $350 and weighs just a few pounds, compared with current models that can weigh more than 20 pounds. The machine could be used to print Braille reading materials on paper, using raised dots instead of ink, from a personal computer or electronic device.

    After the "Braigo" — a name that combines Braille and Lego — won numerous awards and enthusiastic support from the blind community, Shubham started Braigo Labs last summer with an initial $35,000 investment from his dad.

    Shubham used the money to build a more sophisticated version of his Lego-based printer using an off-the-shelf desktop printer and a newly released Intel computer chip. The new model, Braigo 2.0, can translate electronic text into Braille before printing.

    Intel executives were so impressed with Shubham's printer that in November they invested an undisclosed sum in his startup. Intel officials believe he's the youngest entrepreneur to receive venture capital.

    Words to Learn 相关词汇

    触觉的

    chùjué de

    tactile

    of, relating to, affecting, or having a sense of touch

    现成的

    xiànchéng de

    off-the-shelf

    made according to a standardized format, ready-made

    男孩用乐高玩具设计盲文打印机

    在硅谷，创业要乘早。看看13岁男孩舒布哈姆·班纳吉你就知道了。

    这位来自加利福尼亚的八年级男孩设立了一家公司开发低成本的布莱叶盲文打印机。布莱叶盲文是为有视觉障碍的人提供的触觉书写系统。科技巨头英特尔近日对他的公司Braigo Labs进行了投资。

    舒布哈姆曾经问他的爸爸妈妈盲人怎么阅读，他们让他自己到谷歌上搜。后来，在学校去年的科学展项目中，他用乐高机器人套装做了一台盲文打印机。

    舒布哈姆上网搜索并震惊地发现，又被称为压纹机的盲文打印机售价高达2000美元——对于多数盲人读者来说不便宜，尤其在发展中国家。

    “我只是觉着价格不合理。而且我知道有更简单的方法。”舒布哈姆说。他在厨房餐桌上展示了他的打印机是怎样工作的。很多个晚上他在这里熬夜，用乐高机器人EV3工具包制作出了这台机器。

    舒布哈姆想做一款台式盲文打印机，售价大约350美元，比起现在二十几磅重的机器，他设计的机器只有几磅重。这台机器可以从个人电脑或其他电子设备上，用凸起的圆点代替墨将盲文阅读材料打印到纸上。

    “Braigo”这个名字是将“Braille”和“Lego”糅合在一起得来。“Braigo”获得了众多奖项以及来自盲人社区的热切支持，舒布哈姆去年夏天用来自父亲的35000美元投资创建了Braigo实验室。

    有了这笔钱，舒布哈姆利用一台现成的台式打印机和英特尔新推出的电脑芯片制作了一台更复杂的盲文打印机。这款最新的Braigo 2.0可以在打印前将电子文档翻译成盲文。

    英特尔的高管对舒布哈姆的打印机印象深刻。十一月他们投资了舒布哈姆的创业公司，投资总额未披露。他们相信舒布哈姆是有史以来接受风险投资的最年轻创业者。