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Help & Support

Understanding Braille Standards

Unified English Braille (UEB)

Unified English Braille (UEB) is the modern international code standard for English Braille, adopted across English-speaking countries including the UK, USA, Australia, and Canada. UEB defines how contractions, punctuation, symbols, and technical notation are represented consistently.

AutoDots uses UEB as the default translation standard, ensuring that output is compatible with modern Braille displays and embossers worldwide.

Table and Spatial Layout Guidance

Braille table formatting requires careful spatial representation to preserve meaning and relationships between data. AutoDots follows practical layout rules used by professional transcribers, and outputs should be reviewed against your local standards process.

AutoDots analyzes table structure and applies a suitable tactile layout strategy to keep complex tables readable.

Accessibility Laws & Compliance

Equality Act 2010 (UK)

The Equality Act 2010 requires service providers, employers, and educational institutions to make "reasonable adjustments" to ensure disabled individuals are not disadvantaged. This includes providing documents in accessible formats, such as Braille.

Failure to comply can result in discrimination claims. AutoDots helps organizations accelerate accessible-format workflows, with final review and compliance sign-off handled by your team.

Section 508 & ADA (USA)

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires federal agencies to make electronic and information technology accessible. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) extends similar requirements to state and local governments and public accommodations.

AutoDots is designed to support WCAG-aligned workflows and can reduce accessibility turnaround times, but formal compliance requires your own verification process.

Table Formatting Best Practices

Why Tables Are Challenging in Braille

Visual tables rely on spatial relationships and alignment. In Braille, which is linear and tactile, these relationships must be conveyed through careful formatting and notation.

BANA Section 11 Approach

Common table workflows use three primary formats:

  • Linear (List) Format: Best for simple tables with few columns.
  • Stairstep Format: Suitable for tables with moderate complexity.
  • Column Format: Used for complex tables with many columns and rows.

AutoDots automatically analyzes table structure and selects the most appropriate format for Braille output.

Review Statuses

Public samples use three labels. Draft means useful workflow output that has not been checked by our team. Reviewed means a team member compared it against the source and recorded the limits we found. Verified means the item cleared the current publication checklist and is ready for the public catalogue.

Paid plans also include human review tooling for flagged PDFs. Pro approvals are private to the document owner. Enterprise approvals are organization-scoped. Neither one changes the public Reviewed or Verified trust labels.

Enterprise deep verification adds another assurance pass for critical work, but it does not replace formal sign-off by your own organization or transcriber.

The full methodology and the latest published benchmark summary live on the trust page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Unified English Braille (UEB)?

UEB is the globally standardized form of literary Braille for English-speaking countries. It provides consistency in Braille transcription and is the primary code used by AutoDots for general text.

Does AutoDots support technical and mathematical notation?

Yes. AutoDots supports technical and mathematical notation using UEB-aligned translation flows, with table layouts informed by recognized tactile-formatting guidance.

How does AutoDots comply with the Equality Act 2010?

The Equality Act 2010 (UK) requires service providers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled individuals, including providing accessible formats. AutoDots helps teams produce Braille drafts faster, while final compliance decisions remain with your organization.

Can I use AutoDots for commercial or educational purposes?

Yes. Teams use AutoDots in schools, exam support, and business accessibility workflows.

What file formats does AutoDots support?

AutoDots supports PDF, DOCX, PNG, JPG, and other common document and image formats. PDFs default to our Document AI extraction path, while Gemini handles repair, verification, and semantic descriptions for images and diagrams.