I had attended the Techshare Conference in February, and had met some wonderful people and got an opportunity to learn about some fantastic innovations. This post is dedicated to a wonderful innovation called the Tactile Explorer.
What is the Tactile Explorer(TE)?
The TE is a comprehensive PC reading and navigating system driven by an adapted computer mouse that provides the first real opportunity for full PC accessibility for blind and visually impaired individuals. The basic idea behind the product is that the users only need two tactile pads to experience the whole computer screen as the cursor can be moved across the screen in a way similar to a regular computer mouse.
How does it look?
It looks like a slight larger version of a regular mouse. The two buttons of a regular mouse is replaced by 2 Tactile Pads of 4 by 4 Braille Cells.So a person holds this just like a regular mouse and now has 16 dots under the two fingers.
How does it work?
The hardware, is a unique design for a computer mouse incorporating two pads of 4X4 pins on the top of the mouse, that rise and fall under the user’s fingertips when the mouse is moved, translating the data on the screen (shapes, textures, letters, Braille, paths, and objects) to tactile sensations and to speech. For the sighted readers of this blog, you can check out this demo on the their site http://www.tactile-world.com/Demo1/. For those who are blind, I guess the only way to experience the product is to feel it.
What are its USP’s?
The Tactile Explorer is a complete system, including a refreshable Braille display, screen reader, navigator, games console and uniquely a graphics reader. Its core functionalities include:
- Ability to feel graphics – NONE of the existing peripherals’ has this feature.
- Ability to easily navigate their way around PC programs and the internet.
- Is an “attractive” and effective teaching tool for blind and visually impaired children and youth – eliminating any future obstacles to employment due to lack of computer familiarity and skills.
- Portability – It is light and small and you can plug the TE into any laptop or PC, load the software and go!
What’s the price?
The unit cost is priced at less than $695. Whilst its price is cheaper compared to a lot of assistive aids I have come across. I still feel its a tad highly priced for a lot of developing markets, and I hope that with larger volumes, they will be able to bring down the price and let a larger population benefit from this wonderful innovation
What I really liked about the demonstration at Techshare was that it was completely managed by two volunteers from India. Manish and Pranav, who have regular corporate jobs took time out of their busy schedules and volunteered to demonstrate this wonderful product. Both of them are amazing presenters, with a great sense of humour. Manish in fact gave a demonstration of how to play a game using the TE, and Pranav showed the audience how a blind person can experience the map of India! The officials from the company, Mandi the project manager, and Dr.Igor the inventor, both stayed in the background and let the product do the talking!
I have no doubts in my mind about the utility of this product especially as a teaching aid in a lot of blind schools across the world. The company has currently completed Alpha testing, and are looking for a round of funding. By the second half of the year, they should be ready to roll out the products.
For more details, you can check out the company website http://www.tactile-world.com and also read the review done by Manish on this blog http://iaccessible.blogspot.com/2010/02/tactile-mouse.html
