Navigating public places like busy city streets, railway stations etc. can be chaotic for any pedestrian these days due to heavy traffic and overzealous drivers. But for people with visual impairments, you can imagine, this can be exponentially more difficult and dangerous. Thankfully, a man named Seiichi Miyake created an invaluable tool that has helped make things a whole lot safer for such people, through the decades. Inspired by a close friend who was slowly going blind, Miyake, a Japanese inventor, invested his own money into an innovation originally knows as Tenji blocks. Now more commonly referred to as tactile blocks/domes, the bright bumpy surfaces are like braille on pavement. They are intended to alert visually impaired pedestrians of upcoming dangers, like sidewalk curbs, train platform edges or junctions in walkways. While those with severe sight loss aren’t able to perceive the bumps’ signature colours, they are able to detect the texture with their shoes or by using a long cane or with the help of a guide dog. While you may be familiar with the common surfaces, you may not have probably noted that there are two different types of textures to Tenji blocks: dots and bars. The dotted blocks are the ones intended to inform those with visual impairments about upcoming hazards like crosswalks. But the bars are something different — they are meant to give directional cues so that people know they are on a safe path. Tactiles for outdoor usage are generally made of ceramic. For indoor usage in railway platforms, malls, public and private offices etc. tactiles made of Polyurethane are the ideal choice. These tactiles have advantage of very high life span and resistance to colour fading.