A company that emerged from Samsung Electronics' startup incubation programme is helping visually impaired people use medicines safely. Braille printing company Mangoslab said on Jan. 29 it signed a business agreement with the Korean Pharmaceutical Association to improve safe medication use and access to information for visually impaired people. Mangoslab spun off in 2016 from C-Lab Inside, an internal venture programme Samsung Electronics has operated since 2012.

The agreement was designed to address misuse and abuse of medicines among visually impaired people. The two sides agreed to technically link Mangoslab's small braille label printer, Nemonic Dot, with pharmacy claims programmes.

Mangoslab's AI-based braille printer Nemonic Dot won the Best of Innovation award in the mobile devices, accessories and apps category at CES 2026. The company has braille technology that delivers a tactile quality of 0.6 mm, a global standard.

Once the integration is completed, pharmacies will be able to print braille labels instantly at the press of a button, including the drug name, directions for use and precautions. No separate translation work is needed. Previously, pre-made braille could make information inaccurate. The new system switched to real-time braille information generated on site.

Pharmacists who do not know braille can also use AI technology to provide patients with accurate braille medication guidance. Mangoslab upgraded its solution so pharmacists can use AI to provide alternatives for visually impaired patients without separate training.

The two sides agreed to cooperate on future initiatives including a braille printing pilot project for designated pharmacies, upgrades to pharmacy-tailored braille solutions and proposals for government policies to strengthen medication guidance for people with disabilities. The Korean Pharmaceutical Association plans to expand the braille label service through the pilot project to address blind spots in access to medicine information.

Yongsoo Jung (정용수), Mangoslab's chief executive, said Nemonic Dot has opened an era of braille information that is generated instantly when needed on site. He said the agreement would be an important starting point for making braille part of everyday life by integrating it into routine social systems rather than leaving it as a specialised area.

Younghee Kwon (권영희), president of the Korean Pharmaceutical Association, said accurate medicine information for visually impaired people is a matter of survival, not a choice. She stressed the agreement is a practice of digital inclusion in which pharmacists use AI technology to overcome the barrier of braille and serve as patients' eyes.