Designing touch surfaces to help the visually impaired operate home appliances

By Anne DeWitte
Backed by Paul Freeman, Lorelei Malinowski, Amy, Ellery Wong, Steve Deal, Don Riling, Virginia Carpenter, Kris Tortora Sweeney, Jay Perez, Mary DeWitte, and 9 other backers
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Tangible Surface Research, LLC
Pittsford, New York
EngineeringArt and Design
Open Access
DOI: 10.18258/5601
$903
Raised of $500 Goal
180%
Funded on 10/02/15
Successfully Funded
  • $903
    pledged
  • 180%
    funded
  • Funded
    on 10/02/15
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Discussion

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  • Anne DeWitte
    Anne DeWitteResearcher
    Recommended reading - http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/11/21/456804340/when-a-stranger-leaves-you-125-million. Gives you insight into the visually impaired culture.
    Nov 22, 2015
  • Jonathan T. White
    Jonathan T. White
    I just want to say my boyfriend is visually impaired and right now we use puff paint dots, but only on certain buttons and on certain appliances. This could have a HUGE benefit for him to make all of the controls on a device accessible. I'd also like to say that if you could make a silicon overlay that matches the controls on the treadmill at the gym, he could take it with him and lay it over the control panel and then remove it and take it home with him when he's done! Thank you for doing this important work.
    Oct 16, 2015
  • Anne DeWitte
    Anne DeWitteResearcher
    Thank you for the comments! I'm encouraged to hear from you because you validated a benefit of the overlays - to make all the buttons accessible. On the flip side, someone wanted an overlay to 'hide' certain controls from an elderly person in the home. The overlays are custom-made following a fairly simple process so both identifying and hiding controls is possible. Great idea for the exercise equipment! I'll look at some equipment and test our current overlay material. Silicon probably will last longer though I really love the cheap shelf liner! Thanks again for the support and for reaching out. Stay tuned for more updates on the study.
    Oct 16, 2015
  • Kris Tortora Sweeney
    Kris Tortora SweeneyBacker
    Very proud of you Anne
    Oct 09, 2015
  • Anne DeWitte
    Anne DeWitteResearcher
    Thanks Kris. Thanks to the Dojo Cafe Crew for their support. You guys are awesome!
    Oct 16, 2015
  • Don Riling
    Don RilingBacker
    Ann- I hope you're not surprised how many people are supportive of you're work. Brilliant person with a big heart- can't wait to see the outcome!
    Sep 23, 2015
  • David Molik
    David MolikBacker
    One of my family members is visually impaired, this hit close to home.
    Sep 18, 2015
  • Anne DeWitte
    Anne DeWitteResearcher
    One of our requirements is to make the tactile cues fit in blended environments - where sighted and low vision people share the appliances. We want to find a solution that is functional and looks good. Thanks for the support!
    Sep 18, 2015
  • Phyllis Steves
    Phyllis StevesBacker
    Useful and powerful idea for our visually impaired community Anne! Best wishes on the experiment.
    Sep 08, 2015
  • Cindy Wu
    Cindy WuBacker
    I'm looking forward to following this project, Anne! 😊
    Sep 04, 2015