TactiPad

Product Description

The TactiPad is a versatile drawing board which enables a VIP (Visually Impaired Person) to make a tactile drawing themselves or on which someone can make a drawing for the VIP. These drawings are made on a thin sheet of plastic foil on top of a layer of rubber. By firmly pressing down on the foil the lines will raise instantly, forming the tactile image. The ergonomic design makes drawing easier and much more enjoyable.

The TactiPad has many applications: it is the ideal drawing board for leisure activities, schoolwork or in your professional career. It can even be used on the go or while travelling.
You can choose whether you want to make a simple sketch by hand, or use the different drawing tools – ruler, triangle, protractor and compasses – for highly accurate drawings. Eight adjustable buttons and measurement indicators around the drawing surface allow you to accurately fix the tools while drawing.

A selection of the possibilities

• Means of communication between VIPs and sighted people.
• Everyday drawings for fun and games.
• Keeping track of the scores in a game.
• Mounted on the wall as a memo board .
• Doing your homework (e.g. maths or geography).
• Making greeting cards or other creative expressions.
• Creating pie charts and other diagrams.
• Using or creating a map of your surroundings by carrying it with the shoulder strap.

Digital drawings

By combining the TactiPad with the TactileView drawing and production software and digital pen, the drawings that you create can be saved on the computer as well. This method of drawing enables VIPs to create digital images in TactileView.
Moreover, this setup can also be used to explore audio-tactile diagrams. The TactiPad will function as a touch screen with the digital pen as a pointer, allowing you to access the spoken digital information in a drawing.

TactileView drawing and production software

The functionality for the digital pen is incorporated in the TactileView drawing and production software. The software records the drawing with a receiver that is attached magnetically to  the sides of the TactiPad. The software can be operated entirely using the digital pen. For this, the pen functionality cycles between drawing, exploring an image or operating the menus in the software.

GraphGrid and CircleFrame for additional functionality

Besides the regular drawing tools, two additional accessories and their accompanying drawing tools have been developed to extend the drawing possibilities on the TactiPad even more.

The GraphGrid is the tactile equivalent of grid paper and uses rubber bands to add a grid to the drawing surface. This can be used, for example, to create tables, for drawings with repetitive patterns or for graphs and other mathematical drawings.
The CircleFrame can be used for great accuracy in circular drawings. Using the drawing tools, you can easily create images such as pie charts, the face of a clock or interesting circular patterns and motifs.