Harpo Sp. z o.o began its operations on July 18, 1985. Three years later we already had our first contribution to the Polish blind community. We localized Apollo, a speech synthesizer by Dolphin. That was only the beginning of a successful journey to the world of assistive technology.
Now Harpo is a company with a global reach. Since 2010, the year we celebrated our 25th anniversary, our products have been delivered to all corners of the world. Thanks to the network of our partners, people with visual impairments around the globe have an opportunity to improve their lives with a range of solutions developed and manufactured by Harpo.
Our Mission
Our mission is to create cutting edge and flexible solutions for people with disabilities, in particular, for those with visual impairments. We aim at affordable, professional and individualized support. We care equally about all our customers. Our dream is to eliminate obstacles people with disabilities may encounter by empowering them with state-of-the-art tools.
Our customers use Harpo’s solutions to interact with the world, to realise their ambitions and to help make the world see them for the talented people they are. We realize our commitment through:
Ongoing research into new ways to access the world;
A continuous search for new solutions around the world;
Constant evaluation of the quality of the products, service and support we provide;
Striving for excellence;
Working to bring our solutions to more of the world, to help make them more affordable.
Our Values
There are crucial principles that we religiously follow in our commitment to excellence.
We always care for quality
We actively meet the client’s needs
We care for every client with equal attention
We are responsible
We raise our own knowledge
Our Awards
Our activities and products have been recognized worldwide. We are proud to have received various awards and recognitions. These awards obligate and motivate us to further our efforts and continue the development of our solutions to help people with disabilities live more enjoyable and fulfilling lives.
Our History
2025
IF Design Award for BraillePen24
2024
SWITCH into universal design Award
2024
must have 2024 Quality Award for BraillePen24
2024
Marshal of the Wielkopolska Region Award for Mountbatten Brailler Tutor
2023
Golden Laurel of Innovation for Mountbatten Brailler Tutor
2022
must have 2022 Quality Award for Mountbatten Brailler Tutor
2021
Dobry Wzór (Good Model) Award for Mountbatten Brailler Tutor
2021
Silver Manus 2021 Award for Mountbatten Brailler Tutor
2018
Golden Laurel of Innovation for BraillePen 14
2015
Initiation of the Horizon 2020 EMYNOS project for Research in collaboration with various European universities and corporations. The objective of the project is the design and implementation of a next generation emergency platform
2014
Introduction of Mountbatten Braille Whisperer.
2013
Initiation of the In-Met project, supported by the Polish National Committee for Research and Development. The aim of the project is development of innovative therapy system for people of all ages
2012
Honorable Mention for PCEye by Tobii, an eye-tracking device (Harpo is the sole distributor of this device in Poland).
2011
Recognition at the World Braille Union’s “Braille 21” conference for the BraillePen 12 in the category of the innovative product
2011
Coorganizer of the 7th “Let’s Talk Together” Regional IAAC Conference for Central and Eastern Europe
2010
Harpo’s 25. Anniversary Celebrations
2010
Initiation of the "Braille Learning System” project
2010
Initiation of the Dicomp Transfer project as part of a EU’s Leonardo Da Vinci Program. The objective of the project was to localize a free screen reader
2010
Takeover of the manufacture of the Mountbatten and the PIAF Tactile Image Maker from Quantum
2010
Initiation of the AsTeRICS project being part of EU’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research in collaboration with various European universities and corporations. The objective of the project is the development of the Assistive Technology Rapid Integration & Construction Set
2010
Coorganizer of the International Braille Challenge in Prague, Czech Republic
2010
Gold Medal of Polish Association for the Blind
2008
Business awards: Forbes’ Diamonds, Gazela Biznesu by Biznes Puls Magazine
2006
AfaSystem’s sale begins
2006
BraillePen 12’s sale begins
2005
Gold Medal for the BraillePen Slim at Łódz Rehab Fair
2004
BraillePen’s (Slim) sale begins
2002
Initiation of the “Aphasia Therapeutical Computer System” project. AfaSystem as a fruit of the project
2002
Initiation of the “Multifunctional Electronic Braille Device” project as a result of which BraillePen 12 was born
1999
"Porozumienie Bez Barier” Foundation Award for the best product for people with disabilities. Auto-Lektor rewarded by the First Lady Jolanta Kwaśniewska
1999
Initiation of the “Electronic Braille note taker” project that resulted in the development of BraillePen (known today as BraillePen Slim)
1998
Auto-Lektor sale begins
1996
Initiation of the Auto-Lektor development project with own synthetic voice and OCR
1994
”Product of the Year” Award for Kubus synthesizer
1993-94
Collaboration with the Polish Academy of Science; the development of the first Polish synthetic voice “Kubus”
1987-88
Collaboration with Dolphin; the first localized Polish speech synthesizer Apollo