home (e)
abtim-news
the videotim
techn. data
usage
research
tim-design
contact
blind-links-.org

ABTIM

ADVANCED DISPLAYS for the BLIND

Working with VideoTIM
Picture: Reading the text on a medical package by VideoTIM

The monitor for the blind - the VideoTIM - can be used for reading all kinds of text for e.g. on medical packages, bank-accounts, letters, newspapers and books as well as differend kinds of displays.
Picture: Numbers in handscript read by VideoTIM
Picture: Reading a paper with VideoTIM
Picture: Number in handscript on VideoTIM display
Picture: A close look at the tactile dots of the VideoTIM display
Picture: Printed number on VideoTIM display Picture: Printed number on VideoTIM display

VideoTIM brings new opportunities to the job because a lot of documents can be read by blind for the first time. That means you can directly look onto e.g. formulars without turning on the OCR-scanner. For tables and numbers VideoTIM might be the best choice. It has a very exact scanning system and shows letters and simple grafics in a form that is optimized for the recognizion by touch.

You can also read clearly written handscript and signatures - most OCR -systems can´t do this today.

VideoTIM can be connected with a special videocamera. With this camera blind people are able to have a live view into the room. This function is part of future use and tested today. With this technology people who were born blind have a chance to learn to know the visual world.
Picture: Videocamera looking at waving hand, picture shown on the VideoTIM display at the same time
Picture: Waving hand

You can look at objects coming closer to the camera and getting bigger. For example a waving hand can be seen on the VideoTIM display and the blind person can watch the spreading of the fingers. You can also work with geometric figures and look at all different sides of simple objects.
Picture: Mini hand-videocamera laying on a open book, letters on the VideoTIM display

Letters and simple grafics are very clear displayed on the VideoTIM. By pressing a key you can choose the best size of the characters. It is no problem to see the kind of typs e.g. Times or Futura. Even script with light print or very thin lines can be recognized. The high frequency with 24 pictures per second makes it easy to read while the camera is moved.

Picture: Icon scissors on TIM-Display Picture: Business-grafic on TIM-Display
Picture: Icon arrow on TIM-Display Picture: Characters A, B and C on the TIM-Display

The four grafics above illustrate the variety of tactile pictures on the VideoTIM-display. The first one shows a scissors, the second one a business-grafic, the third one an arrow of a pc-icon and the last one shows the capitals A, B and C.
Picture: Mini-hand-videocamera of VideoTIM on content-side of a book

The remarkable feature of VideoTIM is its quick access to informations of all kinds like contents, letters, files, business-grafics, orga-grafics, formulars, lables, print-outs, layouts, faxes and so on.
Picture: Mini-hand-videocamera of VideoTIM over display of cellphone

With VideoTIM you are able to look at different kinds of electronic displays, like pc-flat-screens and some cellphones. The better the quality of the display - the better the grafic on the tactile display TIM. In many cases the user will have problems to look at the displays because many devices have high edges around the display, irritating colours and grafics or often changing views. Best results are with large TFT pc-displays. The quality is similar to printed paper. You can look at for e.g. layouts of written text, tables, the right size of the letters or implemented grafics.

To the top