Demonstration of the localised feedback technology for the deafblind at the Cité des Sciences

Last week, on the weekend of the 16th and 17th of November, the CEA team from the ABILITY project was invited at the Cité des Sciences, as part of the group working on tactile feedback, the GDR Tact. The Cité des Sciences was hosting an event "Cité des Sens" (check link below) dedicated to the different senses and in particular the sense of the touch. Over the weekend, we got the chance to interact with a hundred people more or less, mostly families with children, but also interpreters for deaf and deafblind people, people who have worked with visually impaired or deaf people and people working on accessibility dissemination and awareness.

We demonstrated the localised feedback technology, in particular the prototype relying on the geometric confinement of waves, which enables to put the whole hand on the display and feel the vibrations, either as localised points or as motions. We showcased an adaptation of the Lorm alphabet, a tactile code transcribing each letter into a tap, a double tap or some specific gestures, developed during a 6-months internship. Thus, we tried to raise awareness about tactile feedback technologies and their potential for accessibility as well as about current accessibility issues faced by the deafblind people. We also discussed the endeavour undertaken by the ABILITY project and how this technology fits into it.

We received overall very good feedback, people were interested not only about the technology but also the challenges faced by the deafblind individuals. It also enabled us to validate the technology with many users, including children, as most of them could recognise the letters really well, despite the size not being adapted to their tiny hands. Some people even asked when we would demonstrate the ABILITY project tablet. An integrated prototype is now ready, so stay tuned, it may happen soon!