TTT in action (updated August 2008)

Streaming Media

If you have trouble listening to the podcasts, be sure that you have a media player installed on your computer. (Windows Media Player, ITunes, etc.) If you have a player, and still experience problems, please call us at 800-884-2440. (Note: these are large downloads and may not be suitable for dial-up internet users.)

Upcoming Events

• International Workshop on Haptic and Audio Interaction Design
  September 15-16, 2008
  Jyväskylä, Finland

• Tactile Graphics 2008 Conference
  December 3-5, 2008
  Jury's Inn, Birmingham, UK

• Accessing Higher Ground AT Conference
  November 11-14, 2008
  University of Colorado, Boulder, CO

• Touch Graphics, 330 W 38th, Suite 1204, New York, NY.
• Royal National College for the Blind, Hereford, England.
• Washington Ear, Washington, D.C.
• Penny Rosenblum, Tucson, AZ
• MediaLT, Oslo, Norway
• Bernat Franquesa, Barcelona, Spain
• Lucia Hasty, Colorado Springs, CO
• Exceptional Teaching, Inc. Pleasanton, CA

• Touch Graphics is about to start work on an exciting new project! The company has been awarded a Steppingstones of Technology grant from the US Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services for developing WiiCane, a system for promoting proper use of the long cane in orientation and mobility training for young children. This two-year project includes conceptualization, design, implementation and evaluation of a system that may eventually be introduced to the market. The research team will mount a WiiMote (low-cost wireless motion sensing device) on a child's cane; as he or she moves along a course, the WiiMote will stream data to a computer, which will analyze the student's performance and provide real-time audile and vibratory feedback.

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• Under funding from a Phase 1 SBIR grant from the US Department of Education, National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Touch Graphics, Inc. has begun work on a method for displaying spatial information in an accessible graphic format. The company, in collaboration with Dr. Joshua Miele of The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute in San Francisco, will create a demonstration map and access guide for New York City's 1-2-3 subway lines. The system will use a special computer-pen as an audio probe and haptic feedback device; users will touch the tip of the pen to parts of a raised-line and textured map, and will hear audio labels for each stop along the route, along with other important informaton about station configuration, train schedules, etc. The system will be demonstrated at the Haptic and Audio Information Design Workshop to be held in Jyväskylä, Finland in September.

• Two new Talking Kiosks are underway for the Staten Island Ferry! These units will be housed in attractive stainless steel units, and will incorporate Touch Graphics' new display method for universal maps. This new approach calls for mounting a translucent acrylic tactile map over an LCD panel that displays a visual version through the frosted plastic.

• Touch Graphics is proud to announce that Steven Landau and Karen Gourgey, inventors of the TTT, have been awarded the Louis Braille Touch of Genius Award by National Braille Press and the Gibney Family Foundation. Dr. Gourgey and Mr. Landau accepted the award at the Hands On! gala, hosted by Jay Leno, on October 26 in Boston.

• Power Chord Braille Keyboard had been unveiled by Touch Graphics. This simple USB keyboard is great for use with writing exercises in the SAL2 Courseware for Braille Literacy. See the project page for information.

  

• Staten Island Ferry Talking Kiosk was unveiled at a public ceremony on October 26, 2007. This system demonstrates a new approach to creating interactive touchable maps; an optical sensor is used to detect finger position instead of a pressure-sensitive screen. The map is a solid resin casting, rather than a thin embossed sheet, so it can stand up to significant abuse.

  

• Wild Music at SMM David Bailey of the Science Museum of Minnesota discusses the Wild Music traveling exhibit, with special emphasis on the work done by Touch Graphics, to produce tactile graphic exhibit elements.

  

• Bernat Franquesa has joined the firm in the position of Manager for Business Development and EU Sales. Mr. Franquesa, of Barcelona, Spain, has extensive experience in the field of tactile cartography, and is working towards preparing the SAL2 braille literacy curricula, TTT Authoring Tool and other Touch Graphics' products for release in Spanish and other European languages. Stay tuned!

• TMAP Reader Field Testing to take place in August of 2007. Touch Graphics and Smith Kettelwell Eye Research Institute will be recruiting up to 100 current TTT users to try out the new TMAP Reader program. Participants will be asked to go to the TMAP website, and enter an address for a talking tactile neighborhood map that they would like to produce. The map and program file will be mailed to them, which they will then mount on the TTT and use. Invitations to participate will be sent out in April.

• New York Hall of Science has unveiled a new interactive touchable model that depicts two rockets. The exhibit demonstrates principles of universal design: it combines video, audio and tactile information to promote good accessibility for many museum visitors with disabilities. It is also fun to use and educational for members of the general public. To learn more, click here.

• The Lifecycle of a Poliovirus exhibit is now open to the public! This audio-tactile display can be found at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, in the Whatever Happened to Polio exhibit.

• Touch Graphics is working on two new art books. The Jewish Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, both in New York City, have commissioned the books, which will include important works of art from the museums’ permanent collections. To learn more, click here.

• TTT Snakes and Ladders! This exciting and classic game, where 2 to 6 players compete, has been reimagined for the Talking Tactile Tablet. For very young children, TTT Snakes and Ladders can be a great introduction to tactile graphics. To learn more, click here.

• MediaLT of Oslo, Norway, is just finishing up on their Norwegian language version of the National Geographic Talking Tactile Atlas of the World. Please click here to go to their project website, or for ordering information.

• Touch Graphics, Inc. is working on an interactive three-dimensional touchable model of the National Mall in Washington DC. The model, which will be available to the public, will provide verbal identification and description of each of the monuments, buildings and streets depicted. The National Mall Talking Touch model is being carried out in collaboration with the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Universal Design at the University of Buffalo. Please check back often to find out about our progess!

• The Talking Tactile Tablet and the TMAP system were featured in a segment on the CBS Evening News on Saturday, June 17. In the clip a deaf-blind man was shown exploring a talking neighborhood map that was made with the TMAP system that was developed by scientists at Smith Kettlewell Eye Research Institute. He read the names of streets that he touched on a refreshable Braille display. To view the video, click here.

• Touch Graphics, Inc. is pleased to announce that the Talking Tactile Tablet, also known as TTT or T3, has won a gold medal in the 2006 IDEA Awards, co-sponsored by Industrial Design Society of America and Business Week magazine. Winners will appear in the July 10 edition of Business Week magazine. IDEA2006 Juror quote about Talking Tactile Tablet (TTT): "...opens up an entirely new world for the visually impaired."--Donald Norman, IDSA, co-founder, Nielsen Norman Group; "The TTT is very sensitively designed, comprehending the full aesthetic experience while reducing complexity for the visually impaired. The designers have created a new medium and have carefully ensured the design looks and feels appropriate for all users. I think it would be rewarding for any child!" --Alistair Hamilton, IDSA, vice president, corporate innovation and design, Symbol Technologies, Inc.