At least one of the team members mentioned in the article is blind and has
access to hundreds of other blind and partially sighted individuals from
whom she can get feedback. I don't think you have anything to worry about
when it ocmes to this.
As to the "keyboard" reference, well, we can choke that up to inexperienced
writers.
Pratik
Pratik Patel
Director, IT Access. Director, PeopleTech.
The City University of New York
-----Original Message-----
From: Visually Impaired Computer Users' Group List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Steve Hoad
Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2007 4:01 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VICUG-L] FW: [leadership] CCNY-LED TEAM RECEIVES $330,000 FROM
NSF
"Currently, visually impaired and blind computer users need access to
Braille
keyboards that cost several thousand dollars and can only handle text."????
What about speech?
And are braille displays characterized as "Keyboards"?
Hope these folks actively involve blind persons as they spend their
$330,000!
posting from Emma's Family Farm
Windsor Maine;
Steve Hoad
> Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2007 15:38:43 -0500
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [VICUG-L] FW: [leadership] CCNY-LED TEAM RECEIVES $330,000 FROM
NSF
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
> Wed. Nov 07, 2007
>
> Contact: Ellis Simon, 212/650-6460,
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
> 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,
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
> Universityof Maryland, David Ottalini, 301-405-4076,
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
> Right-click here to download pictures. To help protect your privacy,
Outlook
> prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.
>
>
>
> Eric Bridges
>
> Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs
>
> American Council of the Blind
>
> Phone: (202) 467-5081
>
> Fax: (202) 467-5085
>
>
>
>
> VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
> Archived on the World Wide Web at
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