New System Helps Deaf and Blind People to Communicate
From: RUVID - 01/15/2013 

A new tactile simulation system could potentially enable deaf and blind
people to communicate and surf the Internet. Researchers from the Technical
University of Valencia are working with the Innovatec and Indra on developing
a device that will primarily target those who use the Malossi language. Still
at prototype stage, the system has been implemented on a glove that has 26
motors, each of which represents the letters of the alphabet distributed
along the hand, in addition to a keyboard, a charger, and wireless modules.
The team calls the system TacTIC, and it offers interfaces for computer
access and smartphones. Users equipped with the touch glove can surf the Web,
read books or other text files, check email, communicate via Messenger, and
get a tactile representation of images and music. TacTIC features a virtual
interpreter that can facilitate communication with another glove wearer, and
a support system that can send a warning text message for emergencies. A PC
application also has been designed to reproduce video files with subtitles,
which are transmitted to the user's touch glove. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=127543&CultureCode=en

Links:
TacTIC (in Spanish)
http://innovation-labs.com/tactic/

Google Translation:

Project Description

The TacTIC project is an industrial research project encompassed within the
Avanza I+D. 

The main objective of the project is to develop a form of communication and
access to content, both via the Internet and in the activities of daily
living for people with deafblindness. 

To achieve this goal, is to design and implement a tactile stimulation device
on a glove, which will involve the physical basis of the solution. That same
act both interface development between the device with your computer and the
necessary applications, and at the level of communications to ensure the
ubiquity, convenience, and freedom to use the device for both the access and
interaction with the content, for communicating with people. 

During the whole process, the real needs of future users are taken into
account, and their views on the partial results of the same, so that the
final product is really useful.