The "Laptop for the Blind"

Graphic Displays

As a technology leader for electronic Braille output devices we succeeded to considerably increase the equal opportunities for blind and visually impaired people in education and occupation.

metec AG developed the first two-dimensional graphic display with touch input. It equals twelve conventional Braille lines and enables the blind user to feel spatial structures and graphic symbols with both hands.

Texts, spreadsheet, diagrams, control bars, roadmaps become "readable" thanks to 6240 tactile dots which can be controlled individually. The touch sensitive surface makes an interaction between display and fingertips possible: The user can just click like with a mouse and apply known touchscreen functions like scrolling and zooming.

In order to show the high resolution screen contents on the relatively rough-textured HyperBraille display exactly we developed a special software.

2012 the "Laptop for the Blind" went in serial production. Prior to this, the trendsetting project HyperBraille had been funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology with 5 mio. Euro.

Tactile2D

Hyperflat

HyperBraille F

NEW
Tactile2D

Features

This new small device was designed for independent work with a Windows 10 PC inside.
Works with your well-known applications and screen-readers like JAWS or NVDA.
Feel the graphics, Braille and pictures and edit them with the touch-sensitive surface.
Graphic elements are shown in the tactile resolution. Zoom and wipe actions to explore all of the screen are possible with gesture on the touch sensitive surface or the hardware buttons. For own applications on the Windows PC we have our adaption software MVBD.
Use WLANs and hotspots to show information from the internet.

Details

Tactile area: 120 x 97 mm
Braille resolution: 8 lines by 16 characters
10 point multitouch
8 Braille keys for input
Windows 10 Mini PC inside
Interfaces: Bluetooth, WiFi, USB
Stereo speakers inside
Power supply: 3.7 V Lithium-Ion (6800 mA)
Battery live: 4 hours (depending on operation)
for Android, iOS, Windows

Tactile2D flyer

Hyperflat

Features

The tactile Display connected to a Pad or Smartphone can fully display all the content from the screen. The usage of the home screen and the apps is complety similar to the pad . The touch sensitive surface allows input and control directly to the Pad. So one can operate the Pad with its own touch or with the touch on the Hyperflat .The buttons and the cursor cross are additional inputs for navigation and direct actions . Graphic elements are shown in the tactile resolution. With gesture and /or the buttons are zoom and wipe actions possible to explore all of the Screen. Text can be also shown in Braille letters. Apps for Braille input , speech output and input assistance are supported on the display.
For several Screenreaders or even own Applications on a Windows PC we have our adaption software MVBD.

Details

tactile Area of 190 x 120 mm
10 point multitouch Input
mobil
bluetooth
for Android, iOS, Windows
wireless

Hyperflat Flyer

HyperBraille F

Features

The graphic display consists of 6240 dots each individually driven. This adds up to a haptic surface of 260 x 150 mm. The tactile dots have a dot spacing of 2.5 mm in both directions. Thus graphics like spreadsheet or outlines can be shown anywhere on the display and also Braille characters by simply leaving out a line of tactile dots between each character.

The surface is touch-sensitive which enables direct input by gestures, mouse clicks etc. and thus interactive working. The additional 14 hardware keys are reserved for writing Braille and special functions. The cursor cross is meant for navigation and for confirmation. The navigation line on the front side of the device guarantees an ergonomic and fast zooming and scrolling. The display is simply connected via USB to a computer.