BrailleVision Hackathon 2026
JOEL deva
BrailleVision Hackathon 2026 is a virtual AI and assistive technology hackathon where participants build a real-time system that uses a camera to read physical Braille and convert it into English text and/or speech. The challenge focuses on real-world accessibility for visually impaired users, especially by processing actual embossed or handwritten Braille, not just digital Braille symbols.
ℹ️ Event Details
- Theme: Real-time physical Braille to English using camera-based AI
- Mode of Conduct: Virtual / Online
- Core Challenge: Build a camera-based assistive application that can detect real Braille dots from paper, recognise Braille cell patterns, convert them into English text, and provide accessible output in real time or near real time.
- Allowed Platforms: Mobile, web, desktop, or embedded platforms
- Technology Flexibility: Participants can use any preferred tech stack, including computer vision, image processing, machine learning, OpenCV, TensorFlow, PyTorch, Flutter, React, Android, iOS, and text-to-speech systems.
📅 Important Dates
- Hackathon Start Date: 31 May 2026
- Hackathon End Date:1 June 2026
- Start Time: 4:00 PM IST
- End Time: 5:00 PM IST
- Mode: Virtual
🎯 Eligibility & Rules
- Eligibility: Open to students, developers, designers, AI/ML enthusiasts, computer vision learners, accessibility innovators, and anyone interested in building technology for social impact.
- Main Rule: The solution must work with real physical Braille images or a live camera feed.
- Expected Features: Projects may include live camera-based Braille scanning, physical Braille dot detection, Braille cell segmentation, Grade 1 Braille to English conversion, real-time text output, text-to-speech output, camera guidance, and support for different lighting, angles, and spacing.
- Submission Requirements: Teams must submit a working demo video, source code or GitHub repository, short project explanation, technology stack used, accuracy/performance explanation, and future improvement plan.
- Evaluation Criteria: Projects will be judged on Braille recognition accuracy, real-time performance, real-world camera input handling, robustness under lighting/angle/spacing variations, accessibility, user experience, innovation, technical implementation, and practical usability for visually impaired users.
🏆 Prize Details and Value
- Total Cash Prize Pool: ₹20,00,000
- Top Prize:₹4,00,000 for the 1st place winner
- Prize Distribution: Cash prizes will be awarded to the top 25 winners.
- Prize Breakdown:
- 2nd place: ₹2,75,000
- 3rd place: ₹2,00,000
- 4th place: ₹1,50,000
- 5th place: ₹1,00,000
- 6th–10th place: ₹75,000 each
- 11th–15th place: ₹50,000 each
- 16th–20th place: ₹30,000 each
- 21st–25th place: ₹20,000 each.
- Additional Incentive: Another 25 selected participants/teams will receive $50 OpenAI credits each to continue building AI-powered solutions.