Tactile Text and Graphics Printer

描述(申请人提供)：Elia Life Technology，Inc.(ELT)致力于开发一种低成本触觉打印机，TouchPrint，它可以产生凸起的文本、图形和标签。触摸式打印机服务于盲人/或有视力障碍(B/VI)的人的社区成员；包括照顾者、教育工作者和B/VI用户，因为输出的内容可以通过触摸和视觉阅读。第二阶段的工作将建立在成功的第一阶段研究的基础上，在第一阶段集成电子元件，以产生符合美国国会盲文图书馆制定的当前政府标准的触觉文本。ELT将与可用性团队(B/VI修复专家)合作，优化新TouchPrint的设计和性能。工程团队将利用喷墨打印，并采用互补技术来实现这些目标。工程控制的专有方法将允许子系统组件一起工作，以实现触觉打印的特定应用。可用性研究中的受试者将定期进行迭代设计，以满足用户需求。作为一种完全开发的产品，TouchPrint将能够持续打印提高的输出，用于盲文、Elia Alphabet和其他触觉字体的触觉文本生产。预计最终产品将坚固可靠，提供出色的打印分辨率，并提供一致、愉快的用户体验。触摸式打印机的成功开发将开始弥合B/VI人在信息获取方面的不平等差距。根据国家低发病率残疾人中心2006年的一份报告，它将允许提高识字率，这是“社会和经济机会的关键”。ELT预计触摸式打印机将被用于家庭、办公室、学校和其他公共机构S它可以产生视觉和触觉上可访问的文本和图形。触摸式打印机对公众健康的益处与多个NIH机构的使命直接相关，包括NEI、NIA和尤尼斯·肯尼迪·施莱弗NICHHD。由失明或视障的老年人及其照顾者进行的日常生活活动(ADL)和工具性日常生活活动(IADL)，如服药、准备食物等，可以使用TouchPrint更轻松地执行。此外，B/VI儿童将增强他们的教育经验，因为他们将能够与以前无法获取的信息互动，如科学图画和数学图表和图表。触摸式打印机的技术进步将为更广泛的受众带来可访问的图形，而不是目前所能接触到的。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): ELIA Life Technology, Inc (ELT) aims to develop a low-cost tactile printer, the TouchPrinter, which can produce raised text, graphics, and labels. The TouchPrinter serves members of the community of people who are blind/ or have a visual impairment (B/VI); including caretakers, educators, and users who are B/VI as the output can be read both by touch and sight. The Phase II efforts will build on the successful Phase I research, where electronic components were integrated to produce tactile text that meet current government standards set by the U.S. Library of Congress for braille. ELT will collaborate with the usability team (experts in B/VI rehabilitation) to optimize the design and performance of the new TouchPrinter. The engineering team will leverage ink-jet printing, with complementary technologies to achieve the aims. Proprietary methods of engineering controls will allow the subsystem components to work together for the specific application of tactile printing. The subjects in the usability study will be engaged on a regular basis to iterate the design to meet user needs. As a fully developed product, the TouchPrinter will be capable of consistently printing raised output for tactile text production of braille, the ELIA Alphabet and other tactile fonts. The final product is expected to be robust, reliable, offer excellent print resolution, and provide a consistent, pleasant user experience. The successful development of the TouchPrinter will begin to bridge the gap of inequality of information access for people who are B/VI. It will allow for increased literacy, which is "the key to social and economic opportunity," according to a 2006 report by the National Center of Low-Incidence Disabilities. ELT anticipates that the TouchPrinter will be utilized in the home, office, schools, and other public institutions s it can produce both visually and tactilely accessible text and graphics. The benefits to public health offered by the TouchPrinter are directly relevant to the mission of multiple NIH institutions, including the NEI, the NIA, and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHHD. Activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) performed by the elderly who are blind or visually impaired and their caregivers, such as administering medicine, preparing meals, etc., can be performed more easily with the TouchPrinter. Additionally, children who are B/VI will enhance their educational experience as they will be able to interact with information previously inaccessible, such as scientific drawings, and mathematic charts and graphs. The technological advances in the TouchPrinter will bring accessible graphics to a wider audience than can currently be reached.