Touch Graphics, Inc. is working with Smith Kettlewell Eye Research Institute to develop the "next big thing" in audio-tactile graphics. This new possibility combines our very high quality tactile and visual materials with a portable "smart pen" device; users explore the tactile image with their hands, then use the pen as a "description probe" to hear relevant audio information about any part of the image they touch with the pen's tip. Furthermore, the pen can be programmed to perform many other functions; for example, in our Audio-Tactile Scientific Calculator, users touch "keys" on a tactile grid to enter numerical values and carry out sophisticated trigonometric, financial, statistical and other operations. Another great application is our Audio-Tactile Periodic Table of Elements that offers unprecedented access to this this crucial graphic.

The development partners are currently carrying out a series of research projects to develop the pen as a commercial product. We expect to release the first applications on our online store in early 2010. Please email us at info@touchgraphics.com for additional information, or if you would like to participate in user testing programs.

The Talking Tactile Pen & Binder.

Two example Talking Tactile Pen Binder pages: The Multipolar Motor Neuron & the Audio Tactile Sudoku.