FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wed. Nov 07, 2007

Contact: Ellis Simon, 212/650-6460, 

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CCNY-LED TEAM RECEIVES $330,000 FROM NSF TO DEVELOP 'DYNAMIC TACTILE
INTERFACE' FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED COMPUTER USERS 

 

NEW YORK, November 7, 2007 - A team of researchers from five institutions,
led by The City College of New York (CCNY), has been awarded $330,000 over
three

years from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop a tactile
surface that can facilitate communication between visually impaired and
blind persons

and computers.

 

Currently, visually impaired and blind computer users need access to Braille
keyboards that cost several thousand dollars and can only handle text.
"We're

trying to make a cheaper device that would receive information tactilely and
also be able to receive graphic information," said Dr. Ilona Kretzschmar,

Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at The Grove School of
Engineering at CCNY and principal investigator on the grant.

 

Besides Professor Kretzschmar, the team includes:

 

list of 4 items

. Dr. Karen Gourgey, Director of the Computer Center for Visually Impaired
People at Baruch College. 

. Dr. Thrasos Pappas, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and
Computer Science at Northwestern University. 

. Dr. James E. West, Research Professor of Electrical and Computer
Engineering at The Johns Hopkins University. 

. Dr. Leigh R. Abts, Professor of Education and Engineering at University of
Maryland. 

list end

 

The project is titled "A Dynamic Tactile Interface for Visually Impaired and
Blind People."  It proposes to use an electronically addressable and
deformable

polymeric film to develop the interface device. 

 

The interface will consist of three layers:  The bottom layer will be a
touch screen connected to a computer for audio feedback to communicate the
position

touched on the screen.  The middle layer will have embedded isolated
electrodes to address segments of the polymer top layer.  The top layer will
consist

of an electro-active polymer film covered with a thin gold film.  Segments
of the top layer can extend out from the surface as voltage is applied from

the corresponding electrode in the middle layer.

 

"In a world that increasingly depends on graphical, pictorial and multimedia
technology, visually impaired and blind people have struggled to keep up,"

Professor Kretzschmar said.  "If we can develop a viable dynamic tactile
interface that allows graphic and pictorial information to be presented in
real

time in tactile rather than visual space, the amount of information
available to visually impaired and blind individuals will increase
dramatically."

 

Professor Kretzschmar is producing Janus particles - particles with two
halves and named for the Roman god Janus - to be added to the polymer film
to increase

its electro-active properties and run mechanical functions.  The film will
then be tested to measure its addressability, maximum elongation, durability

and readability.

 

Through focus groups with both sighted and blind individuals, researchers
expect to obtain feedback on how touch can best convey visual graphic
displays,

how much the material needs to change for optimal tactile detection and what
is the best way to receive the information.  Further studies will test
tactile

interface parameters and fine-tune those parameters for optimal apprehension
and interpretability.  By the end of the third year, the team expects to
have

built a prototype dynamic tactile tablet.

 

Development of a dynamic tactile interface will result in deeper
understanding of the touch sense, its relation to vision and sense
substitution, the researchers

say.  The tactile polymer technology could find application in other areas
that rely on tactile perception, e.g. sensory materials used in virtual
reality,

robotics and medical applications. 

 

In addition, it has the potential to be inexpensive and widely applicable to
undergraduate engineering student design projects.  Some of these could lead

to other custom-designed devices for people with physical disabilities.

 

About The Grove School of Engineering at CCNY

 

The Grove School of Engineering at The City College of New York, formerly
the CCNY School of Engineering, is the only public engineering school within
New

York City.  It offers Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D. degrees in seven fields:
biomedical, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, and mechanical
engineering

and computer science.  The School is recognized nationally for the
excellence of its instructional and research programs and ranks among the
most diverse

engineering schools in the country.  On November 28, 2005, the CUNY Board of
Trustees named the School in honor of Dr. Andrew S. Grove, a member of the

CCNY Class of 1960, and a co-founder and former chairman of Intel Corp., the
world's leading producer of microprocessors.

 

About The City College of New York

 

For 160 years, The City College of New York has provided low-cost,
high-quality education for New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines.
Over 14,000

students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in the College of Liberal
Arts and Sciences, the School of Architecture, the School of Education, the

Grove School of Engineering and the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical
Education.

 

Additional Media Contacts:

 

BaruchCollege, Carol Abrams, 646-660-6114, 

[log in to unmask]

 

The Johns Hopkins University, Phil Sneiderman, 443-287-9907, 

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Universityof Maryland, David Ottalini, 301-405-4076, 

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Right-click here to download pictures. To help protect your privacy, Outlook
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Eric Bridges

Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs

American Council of the Blind 

Phone: (202) 467-5081

Fax: (202) 467-5085

 


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