Talking Tactile Tablet (TTT) Project

Designed to be simple yet rugged, the TTT device consists of an off-the-shelf computer touch screen connected to a personal computer (PC) via a universal serial bus (USB) cable. A hinged weighted frame that can be opened and closed by a user with limited manual dexterity serves to hold a selected tactile graphic sheet motionless in place against the touch-sensitive surface. When a user presses points on this surface, his or her finger pressure is transmitted through the flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC) material and the touch screen communicates the x and y coordinates of the pick to the computer. By comparing the position of each pick against a database of predefined hotspots, the computer is able to provide identifying audio feedback to the user, as a confirmation and elaboration of the information supplied through touching. Technology, then, is used here to make complicated tactile figures comprehendible through audio feedback.

To date, software developed for TTT includes the following items, which are available for purchase in Touch Graphics' Online Store:

• reference materials - e.g., a world map, an atlas of the geophysical world, and audio-tactile statistics courseware
• games - e.g., a crossword puzzle game and a match game. The latter, which is designed to appeal to children from age of 7 and up, is a tactile 8 by 8 grid; players take turns pressing on squares to hear their alphanumeric addresses, and then hold their fingers down longer to "uncover" hidden sounds. Players earn a point each time they discover a matching pair of sounds. This game "permits children who are blind to compete on an equal footing with their sighted contemporaries, thereby working to neutralize feelings of 'otherness'; it also helps to foster good spatial imaging and memory skills and is really fun."
• authoring tools - e.g., a tool that will allow teachers of blind and visually impaired students to create their own talking tactile pictures for the TTT.

Technology, Disabilities, Education, Children.

According to organisers, people with visual impairments struggle to maintain parity with sighted peers in school and work because of an inability to perceive pictorial information. This can lead to insurmountable challenges in mastering graphical concepts associated with math, geography, science, and other disciplines.

An engineer, whose 10-year-old daughter is totally blind, had the following perspective to share as part of his letter supporting organisers' funding proposal to the National Science Foundation: "Technology is racing forward, but mostly in graphical/visual/multimedia areas - as far as computers are concerned. Without efforts like the TTT, people who are blind and visually impaired, have little chance of participating fully in the brave new world that is being created. By making devices accessible, consumers and producers both win. The approach taken with the TTT is simple, effective, and apparently very extensible."

A US patent for the TTT concept was issued September 12 2006.

TTT is now used as a platform for the speech-assisted learning (SAL) Braille Literacy Courseware. This comprehensive curriculum teaches both children and adults to read and write Braille. The work is being carried out in collaboration with Exceptional Teaching, Inc., whose founder, Dr. Sally Mangold, originated the SAL materials.

In November 2004, the CCVIP and Touch Graphics were jointly named one of 25 Tech Award Laureates for the TTT project. The TTT was awarded a Gold Medal in the 2006 IDEA Awards, sponsored jointly by the Industrial Design Society of America and Business Week magazine.