Imagine walking around with a backpack on your shoulder and a camera attached to your glasses. The resulting images would be transfered to a tactile display which would give you an idea of your surroundings. A South Korean company called Tactisplay is betting on this idea with a new product which will translate images from a USB camera or computer monitor to raised graphics. The 64 by 48 pin array includes over 3,000 pins and will last for up to 10 hours on a single charge. Pricing is expected to be around $7,000, much lower than the cost of some high-end single line braille displays. Few additional details are known, but you can get some contact info and additional info in the press release below. Thanks to Dave Williams for the tip.
Newly Developed Graphic Tactile Display For Blind People by Tactisplay Corp.
Mechanical eye for the blind people is ready for launching.
Mechanical eye for the blind people
CHEONAN-SI, KOREA, May 04, 2015
/24-7PressRelease/
-- Tactisplay Corp. located in South Korea has developed a prototype of graphic tactile display for the blind people. This device has individually actuated 3,072 cells configured in 64 column with 48 rows. With this configuration, it can show graphic information in raised tactile dots.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ-__pYkfbs
There is an internal image processing engine which summarizes the image and extracts crutial graphic information for the display. When this device is connected to USB camera, image captured by the USB camera is displayed in the tactile dot array after image processing. When this device is connected to PC or notebook using ethernet cable, monitor screen image is automatically transferred to the device for the blind person to touch and feel what PC monitor is showing.
In this way, this device can be used as a mechanical eye for the blind people. There is no dangerous surgical operation required. User just need to carry the bag containing the device slung over the shoulder and clip USB camera to his/her eyeglasses to see the view.
This device, named TACTISPLAY Walk, is designed to be portable and be used outdoor. It has large battery inside which enables the device to operate 10 hours continuously. Its frontal area is little bit smaller than A4 paper and its thickess is 53mm (about two inches). Its weight is 2.5kg.
Pricing is not confirmed but they said that price will be under $7,000. It normally requires at least $20,000 for similar device.
They are planning to deliver commercial version of the device in two month. If you order today, you will be the owner of TACTISPLAY Walk in two months. Check website (
www.tactisplay.com
) for further information.
Tactisplay Corp. is a small firm located in South Korea and in the business since 2008. Our specialty is design and manufacture of microactuator and its robust controllers. This field requires in-depth knowledge and experience on a precision system design, micro-part machining, compact & low power controller design, robust firmware design, Windows/Mac/Linux S/W development and 3d printing for prototyping. Name of the company was changed from Santa Fe System to focus our business work force to tactile displays.
Contact Information
Jeong Yeol Lee
Tactisplay Corp.
Cheonan-si, Chungnam
Republic of Korea
Voice:
+82-41-908-7459
E-Mail:
Email Us Here
Website:
(http://www.tactisplay.com)
Category: News
This is a joke, surely? As if we don't already stick out like a sore thumb with either our canes or dogs, and lose the practical use of one of our hands when walking... Now some company seriously thinks we'd want to lose the use of our one available hand while walking and look like some crazy sci-fi monster while doing it, all for the low price of under $7,000? I have to laugh. Laughter is the only sane response to something like this. I seriously doubt these people have ever even consulted with a blind person in their lives. I'll stick with my Aftershokz, cane, and my favorite Android GPS app which, I might add, cost well under $7,000 altogether... way, way under.
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J.J. Meddaugh is an experienced technology writer and computer enthusiast. He is a graduate of Western Michigan University with a major in telecommunications management and a minor in business. When not writing for Blind Bargains, he enjoys travel, playing the keyboard, and meeting new people.
