 In 1821 , Braille learned of a communication system devised by Captain Charles Barbier of the French Army . Some sources depict Braille learning about it from a newspaper account read to him by a friend , while others say the officer , aware of its potential , made a special visit to the school . In either case , Barbier willingly shared his invention called " night writing " which was a code of dots and dashes impressed into thick paper . These impressions could be interpreted entirely by the fingers , letting soldiers share information on the battlefield without having light or needing to speak . The captain 's code turned out to be too complex to use in its original military form , but it inspired Braille to develop a system of his own . 
