Touch Graphics has contracted with US Department of Education to test the feasibility of a Talking Tactile Tablet, or TTT as it is informally known. Intended for the market, this device consists of a standard touch screen built into an inexpensive enclosure. It is intended to be used as an easel, or a stage, for viewing and interacting with tactile graphic pictures and diagrams. The device is connected to a laptop or desktop computer by a single cable.
Programs written specially for use with the device are entertaining, educational and empowering.
A blind or visually impaired user can easily open the hinged top, mount any of the available drawings on the device, and close the top again to ensure that the drawing is held motionless. This image shows a photograph of the Talking Tactile Tablet with a sample tactile overlay in place. The picture originally appeared in PC Magazine on 14 March 1999. Lars Anderson, Senior Principal Systems Engineer with Honors at Raytheon Systems Company, and father of 10 year old Kari, who is totally blind, supported Touch Graphics in a recent proposal submitted to National Science Foundation. To read Lars' letter, click here .