Tactile - "As cell phones have become an increasingly conspicuous part of everyday life, they have also become more and more powerful, equipped with computer operating systems and more features being added with every new model."... "there are concerns among the blind and visually impaired community as to whether or not these and other cell phone features will be accessible."
- American Foundation for the Blind
Tactile - Utilizing electrotactile technology, the Tactile mobile device enables the blind to navigate multi-tiered menus, read email, and send and receive calls with caller id with a screen that simulates texture using pulses of electricity. Think of it as an iphone of texture.
Tactile is the result of a conceptual development process beginning with thoughts on "time" which were developed into visual collages, then physical artifact, and finally product.
how it works - Electrotactile technology utilizes localized pulses of electricity to trick the nerves in your fingertips into sensing texture. An array of conductive pins, each capable of sending a localized pulse of electricity, work in unison as pixels of texture.
conceptual development - The development process began with a brainstorm around concepts associated with "time." From this initial brainstorm, the concepts of fate, hibernation, and beat were chosen for further elaboration.
visualizing the abstract - A visual "mood" was developed in order to visualize the concepts pulled from the brainstorm. At the end of this process "beat" as the "texture of time" was chosen for the next round of conceptual development.
creating an artifact - After visualizing the concept of "beat," the next step centered around creating an artifact that continued to build upon the concept as it related to time.
translating artifact to product - Several product proposals were explored that focused around bringing a sense of "natural beat" or natural cycles back into product, all attempting to utlilize "animated texture."
The result of the development centered around accessibility to mobile devices for the blind.
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