Andhra Student's Voice-Enabled Braille Printer Wins James Dyson Award India

A student from Andhra Pradesh has won the India national stage of the James Dyson Award 2026 for a device that turns spoken words into Braille. Lingampalli Himaja, who studies at Shri Vishnu Engineering College for Women and hails from Chintalapudi in Eluru district, developed the system, named RUDHRA, to help visually impaired people produce Braille documents on their own.

The idea took shape during a visit to a school for visually impaired students, where Himaja observed the difficulties of conventional Braille writing. After she built a first prototype, one student asked why they should type when they could speak. That question, she said, pushed RUDHRA towards becoming a voice-enabled Braille printing system.

RUDHRA lets users create, edit and print Braille documents through voice commands. Spoken input is converted into text with the help of Alexa, while a Raspberry Pi translates that text into reverse Braille patterns. A printing mechanism then embosses the required dots onto paper. By generating reverse Braille patterns automatically, the device removes the need for users to learn reverse writing and cuts the physical strain of the traditional slate-and-stylus method. The design was refined using feedback from visually impaired students.

Himaja said the award would give RUDHRA the recognition and visibility needed to reach institutions, communities and individuals who could benefit from it, and would support further refinement and testing of the prototype. As India's national winner, she receives approximately £5,000 (about Rs 6 lakh).

The James Dyson Award invites students from 30 countries to develop practical solutions to real-world problems using engineering principles. The 2026 India edition featured innovations across a range of challenges.

Anvika Shetty of the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, was named first runner-up for ViabilityX, a passive organ preservation and transport system. It is designed to keep organs at 4°C to 8°C without electricity, batteries or ice, using phase-change material cooling and a stabilising inner holder, with sensors providing live temperature and location updates through a companion mobile app. The backpack-worn system is compact enough to fit in an aircraft cabin overhead bin.

Shakeel Akthar S of Anna University took second runner-up place with Trike 2π, a compact electric patrol vehicle aimed at reducing patrol fatigue and improving security response in confined pedestrian areas. The three-wheeler combines the stability of a four-wheeler with the manoeuvrability of a two-wheeler and can make tight turns within a five-foot radius. Its standing platform offers better visibility and allows quick mounting and dismounting, while independent suspension and integrated patrol features support security operations across large pedestrian zones.

The top three Indian entries will represent the country in the international round of the award, with the final winners to be selected by Sir James Dyson. The award is run by the James Dyson Foundation, a charitable trust established by James Dyson, to encourage interest in design engineering among young people and to recognise and support emerging design engineers working on real-world problems.