Teen creates Rubik’s Cube for the blind
Jan 8, 2018, 10:38 AM | Updated: Oct 1, 2024, 10:01 am
A local teen has figured out a way to bring the joy (and agony) of solving the Rubik’s Cube to people with visual impairment.
Sasha Thomas’ dad works as a specialist for people with visual impairment at the Vancouver, Washington Veteran Affairs campus. His dad, he told The Associated Press, often puts textured dots and stickers around his home to work on ways to better help his clients.
The practice sparked an idea for Thomas – could the same method apply to the Rubik’s Cube?
He worked with a friend to create a prototype:
“We thought, ‘how can we take this and give it to a certain group of people that wouldn’t have had to opportunities to solve them otherwise?'” Thomas said.
They then cold-called the Washington State School for the Blind and asked if they could try it out with some of the students.
The superintendent said his students were excited to try the puzzle, even if some were a bit discouraged at the difficulty at first.
According to KGW TV in Portland, Thomas has called a couple patent lawyers but so far haven’t heard back.
You can hear Colleen O’Brien’s “Daily Dose of Kindness” segment every morning at 7:30 a.m. on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM.
