[Art_beyond_sight_learning_tools] Press Release Unveil Prototype of Braille-Embossed TouchBook

[Lisa Yayla]

The National Federation of the Blind, Jernigan Institute and Somatic 
Digital Unveil Prototype of Braille-Embossed TouchBook With Digital 
Capabilities
Tuesday July 11, 8:03 am ET

BALTIMORE, July 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Federation of the Blind 
(NFB) announced today that it recently demonstrated a prototype tactile 
book with a computerized Touch User Interface (TUI) at its national 
convention in Dallas, Texas on July 1-7, 2006. The book entitled Touch 
the Earth is the first Braille book combining MODIS Sensor imagery and 
science content from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
(NASA) along with the TUI technology of Somatic Digital. Touch the 
Earth, conceived by the NFB Jernigan Institute, offers new educational 
opportunities for blind students to break through barriers to accessing 
printed and pictorial information in existing materials.

According to Dr. Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of 
the Blind, "Touch the Earth is an effort to examine how we can use 
Braille in conjunction with technology to produce multi-sensory 
educational experiences in ways that have never before been imagined. 
Furthermore, we believe these multi-sensory learning experiences are 
important not only because they are accessible to the blind but also 
because they provide more meaningful learning opportunities to all 
students."

Touch the Earth is a proof of concept demonstrating how a paper-based 
Braille book with tactile images can be connected to supplemental 
digital content stored on a computer simply through the touch of a page. 
The demonstration book includes five Braille pages, four tactile map 
images created from NASA satellite imagery, and an additional tactile 
page, which serves as a remote control to access the associated digital 
content. The NFB believes this innovative approach to educational 
material could serve as the guide to produce a full-scale book to help 
teach Earth science concepts to both blind and sighted students alike.

Dr. Elissa Levine, a research scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight 
Center and collaborator on the book, says, "The cutting edge approach of 
this book is an expression of NASA's vision to inspire and engage the 
next generation of explorers. The concepts and technology used in 
creating Touch the Earth can be applied to many new educational 
products, which will broaden the pool of people inspired by NASA and 
deepen science literacy nationwide."

According to Jason E. Barkeloo, president, Somatic Digital, "We are 
proud of this work under the leadership of the Jernigan Institute. By 
working with the NFB we are focusing on bridging the digital divide for 
all students. We know that by connecting those who are blind, hearing, 
motor, cognitively, or socio-economically impaired, we can connect 
everyone to digital content through the ubiquitous paper-and-ink medium. 
We are converging print and digital with the book being the point of 
convergence rather than a new appliance."

The TUI technology enables regular printed pages to connect directly to 
digital content and communication protocols. When the print or tactile 
page is touched, a signal is sent to a computer to execute the 
associated command. The TUI technology is an open technology designed to 
enable educational publishers to create interactive digital and print 
hybrid workbooks, texts, and supplements.

This technology is ideal for providing a multi-modal learning 
environment to all students. The TUI allows individual books to be 
customized to the needs outlined in students' individualized education 
plans. Properly designed TUI-based TouchBooks, such as the Federation's 
Touch the Earth, should meet the requirements outlined in the National 
Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) and the inclusive 
learning requirements of laws such as the Individuals with Disabilities 
Act, No Child Left Behind Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

About the National Federation of the Blind

With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind is 
the largest and most influential membership organization of blind people 
in the United States. The NFB improves blind people's lives through 
advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs encouraging 
independence and self-confidence. It is the leading force in the 
blindness field today and the voice of the nation's blind. In January 
2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan 
Institute, the first research and training center in the United States 
for the blind led by the blind.

About Somatic Digital

Somatic Digital, LLC, is the developer of the Touch User Interface (TUI) 
technology as the TouchBook platform. The TUI technology connects paper 
directly to digital content that can reside on optical media, the 
Internet, or hard drives. It enables a bridge over the digital divide 
because it eliminates barriers that previously prevented people from 
connecting to digital content.