This message is composed of two files.  The first is a press release and
the other is a brochure.  It is long but worth the read.



Interactive Multimedia For Blind Persons?

New computer device will enable blind people to play side-by-side with
sighted

For immediate release

Boston, MA 10th January 2003: A new device that translates the action
taking place on a computer screen into a range of tactile signals will
enable blind and visually impaired people to play computer games
side-by-side with sighted family members and friends.

Based on a patented technology and extensive psychological research into
the needs of the visually impaired, the VTPlayerT is being released in
the United States next week at ATIA 2003 Conference and Exhibition
(January 15-18, 2003, Radisson Hotel Orlando FL.)

Bundled with several Windows® software applications, the product has a
suggested retail price of $695. Additional software titles, compatible
with the VTPlayer, are being released at the same time. The add-on
software packages will retail at prices ranging from $29 to $195.

"Blind and visually impaired people have at least as much interest in
games and educational software as sighted persons do," says one of the
VTPlayer's inventors, Dr Roman Gouzman. "In fact, given their
frustration at being locked out of the pleasures of multimedia, there is
a very significant demand. We are addressing this need in a very
cost-effective way."

Dr Gouzman's company, VirTouch Ltd., is based in Jerusalem, Israel,
where its R&D efforts have been underway since 1996. He has over 25
years of doctoral research experience in vision-related psychology in
both his native Russia and in Israel where he immigrated in 1992. The
VTPlayer technology is based on the best scientific experience of native
Israelis and on the 1990's wave of Russian immigrant scientists.

The new VTPlayer resembles a computer mouse in size and shape, and
performs mouse-like functions. But unlike a mouse, the VTPlayer features
an integrated pair of electronic tactile pads which sit under the user's
fingers. Each pad contains a matrix of specially-designed rounded pins
which rise and fall according to what the device detects on the screen.

VirTouch's Chief Executive Officer, Arnold Roth, believes the new device
is going to have a revolutionary effect on the recreation and education
of adults and children in the visually impaired and blind community. He
also believes that, beyond its educational and entertainment value, the
VTPlayer will be recognized as an ideal entry point for people wanting
to learn Braille. Currently fewer than one-tenth of all blind and
visually impaired Americans are able to read Braille. But eighty percent
or more of blind Americans who are employed use Braille.

Roth says: "We're speaking of a hand-held device, rather like a mouse,
which can be connected to any Windows-capable computer via a standard
USB connector. Many existing software applications can be adapted to
become compatible with the VTPlayer. So far, we have focused our efforts
on creating a shelf-full of "edutainment" titles. Some of them are
focused on educational needs like learning about maps of the world and
of cities. Others are pure fun, arcade-game style, while still providing
educational values."

"It's great to watch two people sitting side-by-side, one who can see
normally and the other with visual disabilities. And they're playing the
same game at the same time on the same computer. The VTPlayer, plus the
software adapted for it, is what makes this possible."

"Three-dimensional graphic applications and well-designed multimedia
software are taken for granted today by computer-savvy users. But people
with visual impairment or blindness have basically been skipped over by
the wave of new computer developments," says Roth. "The key to our
breakthrough is in the unique way we allow three key senses - touch,
movement and sound - to become the sensory channels for interacting with
the computer. And for people who have some degree of sight, vision
becomes their fourth channel of information.

"Blending these in the VTPlayer in a way that has not been done before,
we have created a new class of sensory interaction. For many people,
this will enable them to have their first encounter with computers."

"In a fully interactive way, VTPlayer communicates the same shapes,
textures, paths, and objects that sighted people see when they're
looking at a computer screen," says VirTouch's Dr Gouzman.
"Interactivity is enabled through the VTPlayer buttons and movements.
These convert the user from being a passive recipient of information via
the computer into an active explorer. No other way exists to do this. We
're very excited by the potential."

Dr Gouzman describes the appeal of the new VTPlayer as very wide. "For
children, it can obviously be lots of fun, but at the same time they can
learn skills that are tremendously important including spatial
orientation, line and path tracking, tactile sensitivity and response.
Even more importantly, they develop the key skills of mental imaging,
spatial memory and coordination. For adults who have visual impairment,
the VTPlayer lets them explore maps and graphic images at will, and play
games with their children and grandchildren. The potential social
benefits are enormous."

About VirTouch Ltd

Formed in 1996, VirTouch Ltd. has its origins in Israel's technology
incubator program. Backed by seasoned investors, the Jerusalem-based
company is currently introducing its consumer-focused VTPlayer product
to the US and European markets.

For distribution in North America, VirTouch is working with
Massachusetts-based Adaptive Technology Consulting Inc., through which
it is accrediting dealers and training centers in various locations in
the United States and Canada.

More information about Virtouch and the VTPlayer can be found at
www.virtouch.com

Contacts

Lee V. Kaplan, Vice President, Marketing & Business Development

VirTouch Ltd.

Phone (888) 393-4040 (Toll-free)

[log in to unmask]

Gayle Yarnall, Chief Executive Officer

Adaptive Technology Consulting, Inc.,

Amesbury, MA

Phone (978) 462-3817

[log in to unmask]

VTPlayer is a trademark of VirTouch Ltd. All other company and product
names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are
associated.




That's Edu-tainment!
* VTPlayer comes bundled with four appealing software applications:
TactileMaps(tm) USA; Duck Shooting Gallery(tm), Hide And Seek(tm) and
BullsEye(tm).
* A growing library of additional exciting educational and entertainment
software includes the Braille Adventure(tm) series of games for learning
Braille, as well as other games for developing cognitive skills. And a
series of tactile maps with Click-N-Hear(tm) audio track.
* VirTouch TactileTools(tm) (due early 2003) software allows teachers to
easily prepare compatible tactile/graphic materials, incorporating
Click-N-Hear features.

User-Friendly Features
* Advanced optical tracking technology enables users to feel shapes,
textures, animations, paths and objects
* Only minimal training required
* Simple connection (plug-and-play) to most PCs/laptops via standard USB
port
* Large, responsive buttons for user input
* About the same size as a conventional computer mouse

System Requirements
* Windows(r) capable PC, Pentium II or better, with sound capabilities,
128Mb RAM, USB port and CD-ROM drive
* Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP and higher
* No external power-source required
* 300Mb free disk space


Introducing VTPlayer
The Excitement of Multimedia Software
for Blind and Visually Impaired Persons

Access to the fascinating world of multimedia education and
entertainment has been opened up to blind and visually impaired
individuals thanks to the development of a new computer device from
VirTouch.

Based on patented technology, VTPlayer(tm) creates an entirely new form
of immersive experience for users. In the same way that 3D enables
virtual reality, Dimension 3F(tm), the technology developed by VirTouch,
allows users to "step into" specially developed software applications
via three sensory channels: touch, motion and sound. The result is an
unprecedented level of quality education and entertainment.

Invented by a world-renowned psychologist and developed by a team of
experts in assistive technology experts, VTPlayer looks deceptively like
a simple computer mouse with some added buttons. In fact, it can be
installed on almost any Windows-capable computer, including laptops,
with plug-and-play ease. Novices can learn to use it just as quickly as
skilled PC users.

The key to VTPlayer's capabilities is its embedded tactile display. This
delivers the images, animation and text of supported software
applications to the user's fingertips, along with accompanying sound
effects built into the software. The display is made up of a pair of
electronically-controlled matrix units built into the VTPlayer's surface
just where the fingers rest. Each 4x4 matrix holds 16 pin-like
micro-pods that rise and fall dynamically, gently delivering a tactile
sense of the screen to the user's fingertips.

With applications focused on education and entertainment, VTPlayer
addresses the needs of users with computer experience as well as those
who are new to PCs. VTPlayer's growing software library includes
interactive games for teaching Braille, talking tactile maps that
educate students in geography, and learning games that entertain while
teaching valuable mental skills such as navigation, pre-mobility
training and spatial orientation.

And because it's also suitable for players with unimpaired vision,
VTPlayer does more than simply provide fun for blind and visually
impaired people. It creates social interaction opportunities within
families and beyond. And that means more meaningful shared experiences
for everyone.

The VTPlayer Software Library
The library of VTPlayer-compliant interactive learning software and
entertainment titles is growing fast. Check out these exciting
offerings, all of them specially designed to work with your VTPlayer.

TactileMaps(tm) Series
The VTPlayer brings geography to life! By moving the VTPlayer over
specially adapted on-screen maps, users feel the location and
relationship of continents, oceans, seas, countries, states, islands,
and selected other geographic elements. Tactile clues, textures,
animations and contours are experienced through the fingertips. Clicking
on the VTPlayer's buttons causes the software to "speak" the location
and give valuable background information. All TactileMaps titles include
this Click-N-Hear(tm) feature. Several geographic zones currently in
development.

Braille Adventure(tm) Series
Enter a chicken hatchery and learn Braille coding and decoding. Step
into a virtual factory - and learn to recognize Braille as a stream of
letters. Based on advanced research in Braille education, the Braille
Adventure series of fully interactive games introduces users to the
skills required to learn Braille. Beginners are guided through the
process from pre-Braille to advanced skills. Braille concepts are
introduced via drilling, repetition and level progression. Teachers can
select individual games or use the complete system.

VTPlayer Cognitive Games
VTPlayer's growing selection of cognitive games offers education and
enrichment in fun and entertaining ways. The design of these games is
based on maximizing the user's potential for learning. Titles now in
development include a tactile adaptation of Compedia's award-winning
Timmy's Sea Adventures!

TactileTools and Entertainment
TactileTools(tm) is a software toolkit that provides teachers and others
with the means to quickly develop their own materials for VTPlayer.
Sketch an image in any graphic program, or scan it in. With
Click-N-Hear, adding interactive voice explanations is as simple as
circling a region. (Available early 2003.)
And because life is more than school and work, VTPlayer doubles as an
entertainment console. Tactile adaptations of popular games, similar in
concept to Doom(r) and Monopoly(r), are in development. For the first
time, high quality computer-based entertainment is available for persons
who are blind and visually impaired.

VirTouch Ltd
www.virtouch.com


Available now via authorized re-sellers throughout the United States

VirTouch Product Specification
Subject to change without notice

All specifications correct at time of publication and subject to change
without notice







Hands-On Technolog(eye)s
Reducing Technology's disabilities
mailto:[log in to unmask]
voice: 301.949.7599
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/poehlman1/


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