The Canadian currency tactile feature is a feature on the
''Canadian Journey'' and
''Frontier'' series of
Canadian banknotes to aid people who are
visually impaired
Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...
to identify the notes. The feature indicates the banknote denomination in the upper left corner of the face side of the bill using a series of raised dots. It was suggested by Bruno Thériault, an administrator for the
Canadian National Institute for the Blind, and designed by
Susan Lederman, a professor of
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
at
Queen's University.
Although similar in appearance to
braille
Braille ( , ) is a Tactile alphabet, tactile writing system used by blindness, blind or visually impaired people. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displays that connect to computers and smartphone device ...
, it differs because standard Braille was deemed too sensitive. The currency denomination must be recognized easily, thus the banknotes use full braille blocks (or cells) of 6 dots, . The $5 bill has one cell, with the $10, $20, and $50 denominations each having one more cell than previous. The $100 bill has two cells arranged such that there is a space of two empty cells between them: .
A very similar system of tactile raised dots is now being implemented in a new series of notes for the
Costa Rican colón
The colón (plural: ''colones''; sign: ₡; code: CRC) is the currency of Costa Rica. It was named after Christopher Columbus, known as ''Cristóbal Colón'' in Spanish. A colón is divided into one hundred céntimos.
Symbol
The symbol for t ...
.
The
U.S. Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments.
...
has announced that the new
$10 note will also have a tactile feature.
Notes
The tactile feature consists of symbols of six raised dots (two columns of three) separated by a smooth surface. The number and position of these six-dot symbols vary according to the denomination:
*
$5 bill: one six-dot symbol
*
$10 bill: two six-dot symbols
*
$20 bill: three six-dot symbols
*
$50 bill: four six-dot symbols
*
$100 bill: two symbols separated by a smooth surface that is wider than that on the $10 note
See also
*
Somatosensory system
The somatosensory system, or somatic sensory system is a subset of the sensory nervous system. The main functions of the somatosensory system are the perception of external stimuli, the perception of internal stimuli, and the regulation of bod ...
References
External links
Making Bank Notes Accessible for Canadians Living with Blindness or Low Vision – Bank of Canada
{{Braille
Currencies of Canada
Tactile alphabets
Assistive technology