I was at my home during my summer break, and I was listening to Stevie Wonder, an inspiring artist who is visually impaired since childhood. While listening to him, I pondered upon the lifestyles of the blind, and it made me realise what problems they go through in their daily routine and therefore, I chose to solve one of them which is keeping track of time.
Time is intangible; they cannot perceive day and night, the idea was to make time tangible and let them feel how time passes by. Detoriation of the vision enables the person to use alternative techniques to accomplish life's daily activities. This, in turn, enhances the other senses, mainly touch and hearing, and I chose to focus on the touch aspect.
Ehsaas means ‘feel' in Hindi. This watch works on the principal of the simple Braille writing system which a blind person is familiar with. It’s all about feeling the raised dots to read the time.
The watch face is made out of Electronic Active Polymer on which pixel circuits are formed to create the Braille numbers. A user-friendly elastic watch strap and Braille instructions on the packaging also assist visually impaired users.