Hi! I have some experience coding, but I am completely in the dark about electronics. I'm hoping someone here can help point me in the right direction.

I am working on a design for a mobile device for visually impaired users that will output info either as audio or braille. My goal is to make an example device, then make the design open source for others to build & experiment with. I'm planning on using a Raspberry Pi Zero W, and most of itis straightforward "Buy these parts & put them together."

Where I'm stuck is: How should I power the braille display? Braille is a series of characters coded into 6 cell blocks. Readers glide their fingers over the cells & feel the position of the dots to tell what they are reading. I plan for the final display to be 8 different cells, so that's 48 pins.

The pins just need to be able to move up when needed, then back down when not needed. They need just enough pressure for someone to hold a finger over them. I haven't yet decided what to use for the pins, but I am thinking something the width of the wire in a paperclip. My current thought is to have a motor that can turn a shaft, which would be connected to a gear, connected to an arm that raises or lowers the pin (Basically, and upside down sewing machine.)

I've done some reading on servo and DC motors, but I wasn't able to figure out if either would be enough or overkill for the power I'd need. I'll be continuing my search in the meantime. Small Bio