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Cardiac-eu.org

Braille Standards

The best known communication system for blind people is Braille which was developed by Louis Braille. A combination of six dots can only have 64 different configurations. This gives a problem in that many more than 64 different characters are often needed. For computer use it is common to use an eight dot Braille system which can represent 256 characters using only a single cell.

Use the links below to navigate to:

International Standards

International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)

1, Ch. de la Voie-Creuse, Case postale 56, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland.
Tel: +41 22 749 0111; Fax: +41 22 733 3430
Web www.iso.ch

Committees and Working Groups:

ISO/JTC 1/SC 2/WG 2 - Universal coded character set

  • ISO/IEC 8859-1 (1998) Information technology - 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 1: Latin alphabet No. 1
  • ISO/IEC 8859-2 (1999) Information technology - 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 2: Latin alphabet No. 2
  • ISO/IEC 8859-3 (1999) Information technology - 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 3: Latin alphabet No. 3
  • ISO/IEC 8859-4 (1998) Information technology - 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 4: Latin alphabet No. 4
  • ISO/IEC 8859-5 (1999) Information technology - 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 5: Latin/Cyrillic alphabet
  • ISO/IEC 8859-6 (1999) Information technology - 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 6: Latin/Arabic alphabet
  • ISO/IEC 8859-7 (2003) Information technology - 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 7: Latin/Greek alphabet
  • ISO/IEC 8859-8 (1999) Information technology - 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 8: Latin/Hebrew alphabet
  • ISO/IEC 8859-9 (1999) Information technology - 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 9: Latin alphabet No. 5
  • ISO/IEC 8859-10 (1998) Information technology - 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 10: Latin alphabet No. 6
  • ISO/IEC 8859-11 (2001) Information technology - 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 11: Latin/Thai alphabet
  • ISO/IEC 8859-13 (1998) Information technology - 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 13: Latin alphabet No. 7
  • ISO/IEC 8859-14 (1998) Information technology - 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 14: Latin alphabet No. 8 (Celtic)
  • ISO/IEC 8859-15 (1999) Information technology - 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 15: Latin alphabet No. 9
  • ISO/IEC 8859-16 (2001) Information technology - 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 16: Latin alphabet No. 10

ISO/TC 159/SC 4/WG 10 - Accessible Design for Consumer Products

  • ISO/AWI 24503 Ergonomics - Marking tactile dots on consumer products - Guidelines for all people, including elderly persons and persons with disabilities

ISO/TC 173 - Assistive products for persons with disability

  • ISO/TR 11548-1 (2001) Communication aids for blind persons - Identifiers, names and assignation to coded character sets for 8-dot Braille characters - Part 1: General guidelines for Braille identifiers and shift marks
  • ISO/TR 11548-2 (2001) Communication aids for blind persons - Identifiers, names and assignation to coded character sets for 8-dot Braille characters - Part 2: Latin alphabet based character sets

National Standards in Europe

Austria

Osterreichisches Normungsinstitut

Heinestrasse 38, AT-1020 Wien, Austria.
Tel: +431 213 000; Fax: +431 213 00 818
Email: office@on-norm.at; Web: www.on-norm.at

Committees and Working Groups:

TC 196 - Technical Systems and Aids for Disabled or Handicapped Persons
Contact: Andrea Redelsteiner
Austrian mirror group for CEN/TC 178, CEN/TC 293, ISO/TC 168 and ISO/TC 173

  • ONORM ISO 11548 (2003) Communication aids for blind persons - Identifiers, names and assignation to coded character sets for 8-dot Braille characters

Denmark

Dansk Standards

Kollegievej 6, DK-2920 Charlottenlund, Denmark.
Tel: +45 39 96 61 01; Fax: +45 39 96 61 02
Email: dansk.standard@ds.dk; Web: www.ds.dk

Committees and Working Groups:

DS/S-199 - Tekniske Hjælpemidler til Handicappede
Danish mirror group for CEN/TC 293

  • DS/ISO/TR 11548 (2002) Communication aides for blind persons - Identities, names and assignation to coded character sets for 8 dot Braille characters

Germany

Deutsches Institut für Normung (German Institute for Standardization)

Burggrafenstrasse 6, 10787 Berlin, Germany.
Tel: +49 30 2601 0; Fax: +49 30 2601 1231
Email: postmaster@din.de; Web: www2.din.de

  • DIN 32976 (2007) Braille - Requirements and dimensions
  • DIN 32982 (1994) Information processing 8-dot-Braille graphic characters - Identifiers, names and assignation to 8-bit codetables

Other National Standards

Australia

Australian Building Codes Board

GPO Box 9839, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia.
Tel: +61 2 6213 7842; Fax: +61 2 6213 7287
Email: abcb.office@abcb.gov.au; Web: www.abcb.gov.au

  • 2007 Building Code of Australia - Section D3.6 Braille and tactile signs

Japan

Japanese Industrial Standards Committee

1-3-1 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8901, Japan.
Email: jisc@meti.go.jp; Web: www.jisc.go.jp

Committees and Working Groups:

S - Domestic Wares

  • JIS S 0011 (2003) Guidelines for all people including elderly and people with disabilities - Marking tactile dots on consumer products
  • JIS S 0022-3 (2007) Guidelines for older persons and persons with disabilities - Packaging and receptacles - Tactile indication for identification

T - Medical Equipment and Safety Appliances

  • JIS T 0921 (2006) Guidelines for all people including older persons and persons with disabilities – Methods of display Braille sign – Public facility
  • JIS T 0922 (2007) Guidelines for older persons and persons with disabilities – Information content, shapes and display methods of tactile guide maps
  • JIS T 0923 Methods of displaying braille signs - Consumer products
  • JIS T 9253 Performance and test method of ultravoilet ray hardening resinous braille

United States of America

California Building Standards Commission

2525 Natomas Park Drive, Suite 130, Sacramento, CA 95833, USA.
Tel: +1 916 263 0916; Fax: +1 916 263 0959
Email: cbsc@dgs.ca.gov; Web: www.bsc.ca.gov

  • California Building Standard Code (Title 24) (2007) - Section 1117B.5.6 - Braille