Audio Haptics for Visually Impaired Information Technology

• Funded with the support of: Directorate General for Education and Training’s Leonardo da Vinci programme.
• Partners: The Royal National College for the Blind (UK), Royal National Institute for the Blind, RNIB (UK), Tactility (UK), BFW, Duren (Germany), e-ISOTIS, VISIO (The Netherlands)
• Duration: 1/10/06-30/09/08

NCBI is taking part in a European project which focuses on making learning materials that are visual by nature accessible to people with sight loss which will improve accessibility to visual graphics for people with sight loss. Most e-learning training courses require access to diagrams and graphics, which may present problems for people with sight loss. Braille will only cope with alpha/numeric formats and screen readers offer only limited descriptions of on-screen images that cannot be seen or experienced in any suitable format.

Talking tactiles will supplement existing e-learning content by bringing diagrams, maps or graphs to life. As the user touches any part of the tactile overlay, associated sound files will deliver lesson content material.

The AHVIIT project will design, produce and test pilot learning materials in the form of talking tactiles, as well as creating an on-line training programme for teachers in an effort to encourage acceptance of e-learning as part of training systems across the EU.

Around nine million people in the EU experience sight loss at some stage of their life and could benefit by assistance from this project, in education, in vocational training, or for recreational purposes. There are also wider benefits to opening up education and training to all, including a reduction in the number of unemployed people who need to access incapacity benefits, state or charitable support and allowing them full inclusion in the workforce as well as career enhancement.

For more information please go to: www.ahviit.org