[fcb-l] Electroactive Polymer Design Opens Door To 'Full Screen' Displays For The Blind

[djrogers0628]

I'd love to be a beta tester for that.

Darla



Darla J. Rogers, B.A. Social Science; M.S. Rehabilitation Counselor 
Education

djrogers0628 at comcast.net

Home phone #:  850-329-7437
Cell #:  850-443-3571

Skype ID: wildflower0628
I suited up for the long walk back to myself...
....Ani DiFranco

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Don Moore" <don.moore48 at comcast.net>
To: <fcb-l at acb.org>
Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 9:34 PM
Subject: [fcb-l] Electroactive Polymer Design Opens Door To 'Full Screen' 
Displays For The Blind


> Electroactive Polymer Design Opens Door To 'Full Screen' Displays For The
> Blind
>
> Imagine if your computer only allowed you to see one line at a time, no
> matter what you were doing - reading e-mail, looking at a Web site, doing
> research. That's the challenge facing blind computer users today. But new
> research from North Carolina State University is moving us closer to the
> development of a display system that would allow the blind to take full
> advantage of the Web and other computer applications. "Right now, 
> electronic
> Braille displays typically only show one line of text at a time. And 
> they're
> very expensive," says Dr. Neil Di Spigna, a research assistant professor 
> at
> NC State and co-author of a paper describing the research. In order to
> develop a more functional, and affordable, tool that would allow the blind
> to interface with their computers, Di Spigna and his colleagues are 
> working
> to develop a full-page, refreshable Braille display. Braille uses a series
> of raised dots to represent letters and numbers, allowing blind people to
> read.
>
> The researchers have developed a concept called a "hydraulic and latching
> mechanism," which would allow the development of a full-page, refreshable
> Braille display system. Such a display would also translate images into
> tactile displays, effectively mapping pixels in an image and allowing the
> full-page Braille display to represent the images as raised dots.
>
> The researchers have developed a concept called a "hydraulic and latching
> mechanism," which would allow the development of such a display system. 
> The
> mechanism would be made of an electroactive polymer that is very resilient
> and inexpensive, when compared to current Braille display technologies.
> "This material will allow us to raise dots to the correct height, so they
> can be read," says Dr. Peichun Yang, a postdoctoral research associate at 
> NC
> State and co-author of the paper. "Once the dots are raised, a latching
> mechanism would support the weight being applied by a person's fingers as
> the dots are read. The material also responds quickly, allowing a reader 
> to
> scroll through a document or Web site quickly."
>
> Earlier this month, the researchers presented their findings on the
> hydraulic component of the mechanism, showing that it is a viable
> technology. The next step is to demonstrate a proof-of-concept model of 
> the
> latching mechanism. "We hope to have a fully functioning prototype of the
> mechanism within a year," Di Spigna says, "and that could serve as the
> functional building block of a full-screen refreshable display."
>
> "Reading Braille is essential to allowing blind people to find 
> employment,"
> says Yang, who is blind. "We're optimistic that this technology will give
> the blind additional opportunities in this area."
>
> "The last 20 years of computer technology have been relatively
> inaccessible - and today's common mobile computing devices, from
> smart-phones to digital navigators and iPads, have been completely
> nonexistent - to blind people, because the display technology for the 
> blind
> has not kept pace," says David Winick, a researcher at NC State and
> co-author of the paper. "We hope to enable the development of applications
> that will give the blind more complete access to the internet and other
> computer resources, such as e-books."
>
> The research, "The integration of novel EAP-based Braille cells for use in 
> a
> refreshable tactile display," was presented March 8 at the 12th
> International Conference on Electroactive Polymer Actuators And Devices in
> San Diego. The work was funded by the National Institute of Disability and
> Rehabilitation Research, which is part of the U.S. Department of 
> Education.
> The work was co-authored by Di Spigna, Yang, Winick, Parthasarathi
> Chakraborti, an NC State graduate student, Dr. Tushar Ghosh, a professor 
> of
> textile engineering chemistry and science, and Dr. Paul Franzon, a 
> professor
> of electrical and computer engineering.
>
> NC State's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is part of 
> the
> university's College of Engineering. NC State's Department of Textile
> Engineering, Chemistry and Science is part of the university's College of
> Engineering and its College of Textiles.
>
> http://news.ncsu.edu/releases/wmsdispignabraille/
>
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