Stellar Startups: Tactile Explorer mouse puts the blind online
Dec. 15, 2009
David Shamah , THE JERUSALEM POST
As the world relies more and more on the Internet - and
its delivery device, the computer - the "technology gap" has widened,
with organizations like One Laptop Per Child (http://laptop.org/en/), for
example, trying to ensure that even the poorest of the poor have a chance to
get ahead in today's techno-centric world.
But "technology gap" doesn't just
mean third-world children unable to compete in an increasingly cyber-world;
there are other gaps that have kept even some "firstworld" people
from moving forward. Take the blind, for example. In a world where more of
society's information sources are being stored in computer hard drives,
databases and the Internet, those who are unable to see computer screens are at
a significant disadvantage - and are in danger of being left far behind as the
computer revolution moves forward.
While there are methods for the blind to interact with
computers, most of them are old and extremely expensive, designed for static
screens, not the dynamic (and often graphical) content in today's Internet.
What's needed is a cheap, easy and up-to date method of connecting the blind to
the modern online world.
And that is exactly what Matthew Wohl, chairman of
Tactile World (http://www.tactile-world.com/), has come up with. Wohl's researchers
have developed the Tactile Explorer, a mouse that lets blind users interact
with their computer screen much more easily and cheaply than they could with
the alternatives.
The Tactile Explorer ingeniously uses braille principles
to allow blind people to "read" the contents of the screen. The heart
of the mouse is the two tactile pads on top with pins that go up and down. The
combination of pins indicate letters - either braille or regular English - as
well as graphics, making the Tactile Explorer the only system in the world that
allows the blind to "see" graphs, charts and even regular photos.
"The graphic reading system enables blind people to
understand charts and graphics using Braille, in a manner that they're used
to," Wohl says. And, in addition to its text-detection capabilities, the
Tactile Explorer even has a built-in screen reader, allowing the blind to hear
the contents of the screen.
Besides graphics reading, the Tactile Explorer's other
major breakthrough is in navigation, enabling the blind to follow links on the
Internet. The mouse has two modes: reading and navigation; in navigation mode,
the mouse can winnow down elements on the screen, presenting users with links
(differentiated from other elements on the screen) that they can "read,"
deciding which ones to click on, as well as moving between links and pages
easier.
Language isn't a problem for the Tactile Explorer,
either; researchers at the company are working on language packs, which will be
included, along with all of the software needed to run the system, together
with the mouse.
Currently, the most popular computer interaction system
for the blind is the Refreshable Braille display, which allows users to read
text on a computer screen using braille. But those systems are difficult to
navigate with, very weighty (i.e., non-portable), very expensive (more than
$5,000 for most models, not including software) and can't do graphics at all.
The Tactile Explorer, on the other hand, is easy to navigate with, light (the
size, weight and dimensions of a mouse), does graphics and is far cheaper.
Although the product is still in development, Wohl
estimates that it would cost $695 if produced today. "We expect the price
to go down significantly when we begin mass-producing it," he says, and
that could take place within a year of the company's getting funding to
complete development.
Wohl has been showing the Tactile Explorer to investors,
many of whom have raved over it, he says. But with last year's economic shocks
still on the minds of VCs and angels, Wohl is still looking to close an
investment deal.
Although nothing is a "sure thing," the Tactile
Explorer has many fans in the Israeli government, including Industry, Trade and
Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, who was impressed with the possibility
that the device could help provide jobs for the blind, 85 percent of whom are
unemployed, and the Chief Scientist's Office, which invested matching funds in
the Tactile Explorer this month.
Providing job opportunities for the blind is a major
reason the government is interested in the Tactile Explorer. Wohl's team is
adapting it for use with the most popular CRM software packages to enable the
blind to work as service reps and telemarketers. And there is interest from
several Israeli government organizations to purchase the device for their
offices when production begins.
Meanwhile, the Tactile Explorer is being tested by
students and adults at some of the country's major educational centers for the
blind, including Keren Or, the Hebrew University Center for the Blind and the
Weizmann Institute of Science, which is using the mouse technology in research
projects.
"We have been developing other specific applications
as well, and we are working to ensure that the mouse works perfectly with the
programs commonly in use today, such as Microsoft Office, Outlook and Internet
Explorer," Wohl says.
Although he's had some exposure to working with blind
people himself, Wohl says he bought the company that produces the Tactile
Explorer because he knew a good thing when he saw it. The company had been
producing educational games for blind children using its patented technology
but was unable to make a go of it.
Wohl bought the basic technology and expanded it to
develop the hardware and software system that make up the Tactile Explorer.
Today the company has five patents, all of which have gone into developing the
first significant update to computer-interaction technology for the blind in 25
years.
"I have no doubt this is going to be the biggest
innovation for the blind in decades," Wohl says. "The blind are no
different than you or I: they, too, want products that are better and cheaper,
and that's exactly what the Tactile Explorer does."
http://www.digitalisrael.net
This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1260447443061&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull