Practical Use of Interactive Tactile Graphic Display System at a School for the Blind

1. Practical Use of Interactive Tactile Graphic Display System at a School for the Blind Tetsuya Watanabe (Nat. Inst. of Special Education) Makoto Kobayashi (Tsukuba Univ. of Technology) Shoichiro Ono, and Keiko Yokoyama (Fukushima Prefectual School for the Blind)

2. In this presentaion • Review methods to produce tactile graphics. • Why we use tactile graphic display and what it is? • Demonstrate its effective usage in education of blind students. • Video clips taken in lessons.

3. Methods to produce tactile graphics：Capsule paper • Widely used in schools because of its simple production.

4. Methods to produce tactile graphics：Embosser or braille printer • Useful software is available.

5. Methods to produce tactile graphics：Vacuum former • Can produce 3-D shapes. • Enduring • Expensive

6. Tangible line drawer:Raised line drawing kit • Special plastic sheet raised when scratched with a pen. • Blind persons can use it by themselves.

7. Tactile graphic display sytem is used to solve these problems. Drawbacks of these methods • Produced by sighted persons. • Except for raised line drawing kit • Lack of rewritability (erasability) • These tactile graphics are NOT rewritable (erasable) once drawn or made. • Lack of realtimeness • Except for raised line drawing kit

8. Tactile graphic cell • Tactile graphic display consists of tactile graphic cells. • Piezoelectronic actuators push up and down the tactile pins. • Pin diameter: 1.3 mm • Pin stroke: 0.7 mm • Interpin spacing: 3 mm Tactile graphic cell SC-5, KGS Corporation, Japan

9. Interactive Tactile Graphic System • Consists of a three dimensional digitizer and a tactile graphic display and original progaram.

10. Functions of the System • As a drawing tool • Drawing static and blinking lines • Erasing raised lines • Clearing the whole screen • Tactile Animation • Linear Movements Rightward and Leftward • Page-Flipping Animation • Can be used in combination with Microsoft PowerPoint

11. Basic Functions:Drawing and Erasing

12. Test Use at a School for the Blind Purpose: To evaluate the system from a practical viewpoint. • whether the system can be used as a teaching tool and in what way • what kind of improvements are needed

13. In a science lesson

14. In a gymnastics lesson

15. In a science lesson (pre

16. Tactile Game:Whack a Mole

17. Tactile Game:Ping-Pong

18. Tactual reproduction of a statue3D to 2D

19. Highly evaluated points • Easy to learn to draw and erase. • The teacher can know whether or not the student understand what he/she has learned by having them draw it. • Blinking dots & lines • Easily attracted the attention. • Page Flipping Animation • Usable to understand the movements • Students in lower grades enjoyed tactile games.

20. Problems of the System • Interdot spaces are too wide (3 mm) . • Hard to draw straight lines. • Oblique lines were felt as zig-zag lines.

21. Utilizing new technology:Ultrasonic Pen • An ultrasonic pen is used • In place of a 3D digitizer • Test use by a blind researcher • He could write his name

22. Summary • Interactive tactile graphics system was developed and was proved to be able to allow blind persons to draw and erase tactile graphics. • Usable in lessons at a school for the blind. • Future direction • Hardware: Improvement of tactile display needed. • Software: More contents needed. • Too expensive

23. You can make MIMIZU by yourself ! • http://www.cs.k.tsukuba-tech.ac.jp/labo/koba/research/dv-1.html