Paige Connect

Paige Connect is an adaptation for braille writers enabling instant translation and gamified learning.

What we did:

Big Change funded Sergio Gosalvez as a finalist in 2023 and as a winner in our Big Education Challenge in 2024.
Big Change’s funding and tailored support helped Sergio to complete the UK trial of Paige Connect.
The first batch of units have been manufactured and the app has been upgraded to support interactive braille learning and aims to launch widely in 2025.

The Spark

64% of children who are blind or partially sighted between the ages of 5-16 are educated in mainstream schools, where the longer process of translation means that these young people can more easily fall behind.

The UK is home to over 340,000 people who are registered blind or partially sighted and only 1 in 4 of working age are employed.

Sergio Gosalvez, aged 22, from London, grew up in Spain and studied Biomedical Engineering. He has developed Paige Connect to upgrade existing braille writers using technology that will enable parents and carers to read the print translation on a web app and provide help and support.

Sighted parents of blind children struggle to support their children to read and write at home as they are not braille literate. One parent stated that “for the parent or carer of a child who uses braille, they are suddenly no longer a part of that child’s literary life.
Sergio Gosalvez

people in the UK are registered blind or partially sighted

of children who are blind or partially sighted between the ages of 5-16 are educated in mainstream schools, where longer translation process means children can more easily fall behind.

The impact

Big Change supported Sergio with early stage funding and tailored support to develop Paige Connect.

Paige Connect is an affordable adaptation that transforms a classic Braille writer, allowing users to output manually typed Braille wirelessly to any phone, tablet or laptop for instant Braille translation and gamified learning.

The device attaches underneath a braille writer and allows it to connect to a phone, tablet, or laptop. Once connected, the braille writer can be used as a keyboard, enabling users to type braille into a web app.

The web app includes software that instantaneously translates the braille into print for collaboration with sighted peers, parents, and teachers. For children embossing their homework on paper, their parent is able to read the print translation on our web app to provide help and support.

In 2024, Paige Connect completed its UK trial. The first batch of units have been manufactured and the app now supports interactive braille learning. The team is working with UK based organisations to ensure Paige Connect is well supported and available as widely as possible for launch in 2025.

We have built Paige Connect so that when a child is writing braille their parent will be able to read the print translation on the web app and provide help and support.
Sergio Gosalvez

The Big Changemaker

Sergio Gosalvez

Sergio Gosalvez, from London, grew up in Spain and studied Biomedical Engineering. Studying Biomedical Engineering led to his interest in assistive technology and how to use it to help people live longer, healthier and happier lives.