It is by knowing and seeing the time that we schedule our day. The first we do in the morning is look at the time because of which we plan our day and come to know that how much time to spend in a particular work. We can do this because we can see the time with the help of our watches. But what about the people who are not as lucky as we are, the people who are blind.
Haptica is a movable Braille timepiece for the visually impaired, which enables the user to get a quick and accurate time reading while maintaining user discretion. Now one would think that many digital watches are available for this very purpose, but those watches annoy the user whereas when it comes to Haptica it allows the user to use it without drawing others attention.
In today’s world even the blind people are working in good positions and taking up challenges. Being not able to see the time doesn’t mean that time is not important for them, here we have brought an world best product for the people who do not give up to the negative situations faced in their life.
Designer : David Chavez
e-Sullivan will help deaf-blind people to communicate by converting all types of printed materials into Braille. e-Sullivan is a handheld portable communicator for hearing and vision impaired, not only it can convert into Braille, but also provide assistance with such computer-related tasks, such as instant messaging and web browsing.
This device is very slim, you can carry it anywhere, protected by a sturdy outer shell composed of a rubber and plastic resin, no worries when you accidentally drop it. Hearing and vision impaired people can get help from e-Sullivan for reading store product information and prices without any assistance. Its simple surfaces and minimal number of buttons emphasize tactile interaction for straightforward usability. The middle, ring and little fingers operate Braille input buttons, and the thumbs are used for the scrolling wheel and the mode button. Index fingers operate the scanning button. Taeho Wang, the genius designer, has created e-Sullivan concept with hope to be able to lower the wall between deaf-blind people and the world.
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One of Next-Gen PC Design finalists is Siafu PC Design. The idea behind Siafu was to give people with vision loss an intuitive computer experience. It provides a digitally tactile interface that completely revolutionizes the way that blind people interact with a computer. Siafu lays flat like a tablet and allows the user to fully interact with it by way of touch. The surface of Siafu utilizes a conceptual material called magneclay. This material has the ability to morph upward into any shape. This means that Siafu can generate infinitely refreshable braille and then display it in a book format instead of just one line at a time like current braille displays. Siafu also has the ability to display images as a 3-dimensional relief, allowing blind computer users to experience digital images, and graphic layouts for the first time.
This product is to be used by people who have experienced a loss of sight. Siafu allows users to read text by generating full page braille displays.
The onscreen relief feature also allows users to explore the internet and navigate through websites by physically touching, clicking, and dragging the graphic elements, links, and arrows of the web page. Siafu is also capable of converting all onscreen text to braille relief, so that the user can read whatever is on the screen first hand.
Designer : Jonathan Lucas via NextGenDesign
A new innovation in PC Design for the visually impaired called Zen. The concept of Zen is a hardware called the ‘Sandbox PC’ and Zen edition operating system working together to create a computing environment that can be used with eyes closed. ZEN is for ?Z-axis Enabled,? meaning it is a truly interactive 3D computer. The Sandbox PC features Active Surface, an electronic surface that can take different physical shape and can be manipulated by the user. You can read Braille text on it, make out windows, icons, and different textures. You can press into the surface, or scratch it with your fingers. All input output is made with the sense of touch. ZEN software uses a Tactile User Interface (TUI). The visually impaired are a negated market. It is fitting, then, to bring them to light using the negated sense of touch, by introducing a negated dimension of depth.
