VISUAL TO TACTILE CONVERSION

RESEARCHERS ARE USING THE PIONEERING OF THE PAST 25 YEARS AND COMBINING THE USE OF COMPUTERS AND A NEW PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIAL TO CONCEIVE AN ARRAY OF 14,000 NODES THAT CAN PRODUCE THE DIMPLE FOR TACTILE SENSATION. THIS ALSO ANSWERS THE NEED FOR DESCRIPTIVE VIDEO SERVICE (DVS) TO PERSONS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. THE PROJECT IS CALLED VISUAL TO TACTILE CONVERSION (VISTACON). VISTACON CAN BE AN AFFORDABLE AND PERSONAL SYSTEM FOR THE BLIND. IT IS BASED ON THE CONCEPT OF COUPLING A VIDEO CASSETTE RECORDER (VCR) TO A DIGITAL CONVERTER/CONTROLLER THAT DRIVES A STATE-OF-THE-ART FILM PLATEN IN A VARIETY OF DIRECT FACTUAL MODALITIES. RESEARCHERS ARE DETERMINING THE FEASIBILITY OF THREE TECHNICAL ISSUES: (1) THE TECHNICAL MERIT AND EFFICACY OF USING PIEZOELECTRIC FILM TO PRODUCE THE STANDARD BRAILLE DOTS AS A GRAPHIC ELEMENT; (2) RESPONSE TIMES AND TACTILE READABILITY OF THE GRAPHIC ELEMENTS THROUGH A TEST SYSTEM; AND (3) REAL-TIME ACCESS OF GRAPHICS, PICTURES, SYMBOLS, AND TEXT IN AN ELECTRONICALLY ERASABLE MEDIUM.