Newly developed graphic tactile display for blind people by Tactisplay Corp.
— Mechanical eye for the blind people is ready for launching.
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.
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 pin 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.