The digital pen is used to click on the tactile image to listen to any included audio-information, and to operate the TactileView software.
The pen has to be equipped with batteries. In the TactileView drawing software the pen can be tested and calibrated for the ClickPad. To prevent ink from being spilled on the image, it is advised to use the plastic tip included with the TactileView digital pen.
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03. ClickPad – Description
The TactileView ClickPad
The ClickPad is a yellow, 5 millimeter thick plate, with anti-slip material on the underside. The ClickPad is available in A4, A3 and US letter format to match the different sizes of tactile images.
The ClickPad is slightly wider at its four edges, and has notches in which rubber bands are placed. The tactile image is held in place by these rubber bands. In one long side are four holes for storing the ClickPad in a two or four ring binder.
Magnets in the sides
Four magnets have been placed in the edges of the ClickPad. Two in one long side, two in one short side. Two magnets are also mounted in the holder for the receiver of the TactileView digital pen. This way, the holder will be attracted to the ClickPad.
Depending on the page orientation the holder is at the long side (landscape) or at the short side (portrait).
The holder can be detached and attached again. The magnets make sure that the holder automatically falls in the right position. The receiver for the TactileView digital pen can then be connected to the computer by a USB-cable.
The right-up marker on the tactile diagram can always be found in the upper right corner. Use this symbol on the diagram to determine the receiver’s position.
Paper clamps of the TactileView ClickPad
At every corner of the ClickPad a rubber band is attached which crosses itself as a result of a rotation.
On 1,5 and 5 centimeter distance from the corners, there are hook-shaped notches in the outer edge for attaching the rubber band.
To attach the rubber bands, put one around the corner in the two notches farthest from the corner. The band now makes a 45 degrees angle from the long to a short side of the TactileView ClickPad. Hook 2 fingers under the rubber band and rotate so that the band is twisted 180 degrees around your fingers. Pull the rubber band outwards and put it around the corner into the notches closest to the corner.
On the upper side of the ClickPad, the rubber band crosses itself. On the underside the rubber band runs parallel; one between the notches closest to the corner, and one between the two notches farthest from the corner.
With the rubber bands in all four corners of the ClickPad, the paper sheet is fastened all around on 16 places. The rubber bands measure around 7 centimeters for the A4 format and 12 centimeters for the A3 format.
02. ClickPad – Set up
The TactileView ClickPad holds both the tactile image, and the holder with the receiver for the TactileView digital pen.
The rubber bands on the corners of the ClickPad make sure the tactile image is always on the same position. The holder for the receiver is placed at the edges, using magnets in the sides. This results in the images always being in the correct position for pointing on them with the TactileView digital pen.
At a click of the pen, the horizontal and vertical distance to the upper left corner is measured and converted by the receiver. The exact position is then transmitted to the TactileView software on the computer. In the file, which matches the tactile image, these positions are used to play the corresponding audible information. When calibrated correctly, the position on which is clicked on the tactile image, always matches that same position in the digital equivalent.
Exchanging the tactile image is very easy, using the flexible paper clamps. Exploring diagrams in portrait can be alternated with diagrams in landscape by accordingly placing the receiver on either the long or the short side of the ClickPad.
06 Drawing a graph in a coordinate system
Photo: The GraphGrid frame with a grid of rubber bands and two axes on the TactiPad
The easiest way to draw a graph is to draw the x- and y-axis first using the ruler and measurement indications on the TactiPad and then place the GraphGrid on the drawing board. The axes, the higher rubber bands, can now coincide with the axes drawn on the paper. You can then easily count and draw the x and y values of the graph along the flexible grid lines.
Because the grid lines are flexible, the graph values can be drawn exactly at the intersections by pulling the bands aside with the pen.
Once you have marked all the coordinates of the graph, you can remove the frame and create the graph by connecting the points. If you want to create multiple graphs in the same coordinate system, it is recommended to finish one graph before starting with the next to avoid confusion between the two sets of coordinates.
Photo: two hands on the TactiPad, one referring to the coordinates, the other drawing the graph
Photo: the finished graph on the TactiPad
05 Simple bar chart
Photo: The GraphGrid frame sits on the drawing board. Along the lower edge of the frame cells are provided with crosses
The columns of the GraphGrid frame can be considered as bars of a bar chart. The value in each bar is indicated by the number of marked cells, starting from the lower edge of the frame or from an additional rubber band. The lower edge or the rubber band is the X axis. A cell can stand for one or multiple units or for a percentage.
Bar chart for birthday data
This bar chart example presents an overview of when people in a group have their birthday spread over the year. Setup: Each column stands for a month. Each cell stands for one person.
Procedure: Ask who has his/her birthday in January and mark the number of cells accordingly. Do the same for all respective months. Take the GraphGrid away. You can now interpret the data by counting the number of markings in the column.
More complex data
One bar can present multiple data by applying different tactile markings in the same cell. For a male count you can apply a line in the cell from lower left to upper right and for female a line from upper left to lower right. Data that are presented with two colours could follow the same routine. Additional graphical markings can present even more complex data types.
Providing maximum value / top of the bar
To present numeric values you can find the position in the column/bar by counting upwards from the X axis. Assume the maximum value can go as high as 1000, than you might take five cells as the longest bar. A value of 700 can be indicated as a straight line horizontally in the middle of the forth cell up. Only the top of the bar needs to be indicated in order to interprete the data.
04 Connecting dots; house, cube and more
Photo: Tactile marks have been placed on the drawing board at gridbox crossing made up by the rubber bands. After connecting them a traditional house shows itself.
Coordinate system
A crossing of two rubber bands can be considered as a coordinate in a grid system. Starting in the upper left corner of the GraphGrid to the right we call the X direction. Going down is the Y direction. Each crossing is identified by two numbers. With this method, the coordinate 1,1 is the lower right hand corner of the top left cell.The GraphGrid frame does not need axes. The cell size is two centimetres.
Steps
- Place the frame on the drawing board.
- Mark the coordinates as given in the below examples.
- Take the frame away and connect the dots with straight lines as instructed with the word ‘to’.
- Front face of a traditional house A2,8 to B6,8 to C6,2 to D4,1 to E2,2 to 2,8 (which is A again).
- You can add a door or windows by free hand drawing separately or place the GraphGrid once again and mark the respective coordinates.
A cube
The eight corners of a cube are named A To H. The 12 ribs complete the cube. Some of them are marked as ‘dashed’ because they are invisible lines. In coordinates and lines they can be listed as follows:
- Bottom face A2,8 to B6,8 to C10,7 dashed to D4,7 and dashed to A.
- Top face E2,4 to F6,4 to G10,3 to H4,3 to E.
- A to E , B to F, C to G, D dashed H.
Pyramid
- Place the GraphGrid on the drawing board.
- The floor of a pyramid is similar as of a cube. From the four corners sides go up to the top ‘T”.
- The top can be right above the centre of the floor or somewhere else. Create the coordinates and lines A to B to C dashed to D dashed to A.
- The top T has coordinate 5,3.
- Draw the lines A to T , B to T , C to T, D dashed to T.
Share and surprise; connect the dots
You can create a list of coordinates for someone else or you might receive a list of coordinates from someone else. Provide instructions to mark the coordinates and how they should be connected. In the list is an ‘hidden’ image that will appear only when you follow the instructions carefully.
More details
For more detail in the image you can work with halves like 3.5, 6 etc. The level of detail of the image can be increased by working not only with straight lines. Curved lines could be indicated as ‘cu’’ or ‘cl’. The ‘u’ refers to upper half of a circle. The ‘l’ to the lower half of the circle.
03 Games and scores
Photo: GraphGrid on TactiPad with two hands drawing crosses and circle in a tic-tac-toe field in the coordinate system.
Cells as playing field for games
A playing field for games based on cells such as tic tac toe, battleship etc can be created with the grid boxes that mature by the crossing rubber bands. The ‘game board borders’ can be marked with high rubber bands. The default distance of two centimetres for the cell size is enough, but reconfiguring the rubber bands to a cell size of three centimetres offers more space.
Yahtzee
Keep the scores for Yahtzee by marking the cells of the first column as 1 to 6 and further down as three of a kind, four of a kind, full house, small and large Straight, free choice and Yahtzee. In the first column you can use regular characters or some tactile graphics that are meaningful for you so you can identify the categories. For the first game we use the second column for the scores per category. For the next games use the next columns. The scores one to six are all kept in one cell.
- Draw a line along the lefthand side of the cell for score one.
- Draw a line along the bottom side of the cell as well for score two. For three a line along the right hand side etc.
- For score five and six you can create diagonal lines in the cell.
- For a missed category provide a line from one side to the other in the middle of the cell.
Gas-Water-Electricity puzzle
Photo: The three resources gas, water and electricity provided to three houses; some pipe lines are provided
Ideally we would like to have gas, water and electricity available in our homes.
In this challenge there are these three resources that you have to provide to three houses under the condition that the (pipe) lines may NOT intersect!
Steps
- Place the GraphGrid on the drawing board.
- Find the cell in the third column and third row and trace the inner contour. This is the gas supply.
- Skip three cells down and trace the inner contour of the third cell, which is the water supply.
- Skip three more cells down and trace the third cell as the electricity supply.
- The three resources are all in the same column.
- Skip three columns to the right and create the squares similar as before. The houses are in one column.
- Take the GraphGrid away.
- Now provide every house with non-intersecting pipelines with all three resources.
02 Graphgrid frame
Photo: GraphGrid frame with rubber bands per two centimetres and two crossing axes placed on the TactiPad
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Detailed description
The GraphGrid frame is a frame (36 by 28 cm) with a thickness of four millimetres. It needs to be mounted on the TactiPad drawing board like a picture frame. Eight oval holes in the frame fit around the knobs of the TactiPad to hold it in place. Three corners are rounded. The fourth corner is flattened.
Along the inner edge, small curved hooks are placed at a regular interval of 1 centimetre. Along the outer edge of the frame indents are made with a spacing of 1 centimetre as well. Slightly wider indications mark 5 centimetre intervals. They exactly match with the centimetre scale along the edges of the TactiPad.
Photo: detail of GraphGrid with indents at every 5 cm, corresponding with the indents per centimetre at the inner side of the GraphGrid
The purpose of the indents is to hold rubber bands to have the measurements system of the TactiPad tangible on the entire drawing area in rows and/or columns. Because of the A4 dimensions of the drawing surface (29.7 cm by 21.0 cm), the centimetre scale is not symmetrical along the GraphGrid. Therefore the starting point for horizontal and vertical distances is at the upper left corner of the drawing board and GraphGrid frame when in landscape orientation and the flattened corner of the GraphGrid is placed in the upper right corner.
Note: The frame covers the drawing surface along the edges for one centimetre.
GraphGrid frame manual
Storage of the GraphGrid
The frame of the GraphGrid will sit or can sit already on top of the drawing board for storage. The additional tools for the GraphGrid have their place in the paper pocket.
Preparation
To begin with, make sure the TactiPad has the landscape orientation with the hinge facing backwards. To position the GraphGrid frame, place the knobs at approximately five centimetres away from the corners. To orient the GraphGrid frame correct, place the flat corner in the upper right corner of the TactiPad. Make sure all eight knobs of the TactiPad are kept in a hole. It is possible that a rubber band coincides with the position of one of the knobs. Therefore, the holes in the GraphGrid around the knobs are extra-long so you can slide the knobs aside for the desired placement of the rubber band.
Initial setup for the rubber bands
The initial setup of the GraphGrid frame has rubber bands every two centimetre in horizontal and vertical direction, so forming a grid. Two rubber bands go around the frame to indicate two axes. Of course, other setups are possible.
Low and high rubber bands – Using differences in height
The framework of the GraphGrid has a thickness of four millimetres. Therefore there is a well noticeable difference in height between the bands that run along the top side (outer) part or the bottom side (inner) part of the frame. The lower rubber bands that are attached to the hooks run alongside the inner part of the GraphGrid and can lay flat on the drawing surface. The rubber bands can be placed horizontally and vertically with a minimum distance of 1 centimetre.
Note: The inner and outer bands can also be placed at an angle of any number of degrees.
Note: The hooks at the inside edge are at every centimetre. Adding rubber bands to each hook could result in a (too) dense grid.
Placing the grid lines and axes
The minimum cell dimensions are one by one centimetre. To form a larger grid, you can place the rubber bands two or more centimetres apart by skipping one or more hooks in opposing sides of the GraphGrid. Additional rubber bands for replacing broken ones or create more grid lines and axes are supplied with the GraphGrid. These are standard, thin rubber bands with a length of 15 centimetres, 6 inches.
Photo: close-up of 3 hooks
The hooks along the inner side of the frame have a curved shape so the rubber bands cannot come loose if they are positioned properly. Placing a rubber band is easiest if you hold the rubber band with two hands, keeping it perpendicular to the frame so you can slide it through the slot to the end of the hook. First of all, you span the rubber band in two opposing hooks, so that it forms a double line between two sides of the GraphGrid. You then take the upper of these two lines and slide it into the next desired hook in both sides of the frame to form the second grid line.
Photo: two hands placing a rubber band in the correct position on the GraphGrid
01. Digital Pen – Introduction
Note: Since summer 2022, the Digital Pen has not been for sale anymore. This manual is for users who still own this former Thinkable product.
The TactileView digital pen is a special version of a ballpoint pen. The pen writes in ink like a normal pen, but at the same time determines the position of its tip on the drawing surface. In the pen’s tip is a small transmitter, which sends a signal to a receiver. Upon moving or clicking in the drawing surface with the pen, the receiver transmits this position to the TactileView software, just like with a regular computer mouse. Visual impaired people can operate the TactileView software using the TactiPad or TactileView ClickPad.
The pen functions as a drawing tool and transmits to the computer what has been drawn, or as a cursor by transmitting on which location has been clicked. This way, the digital pen enables the user to make a digital version of a tactile diagram or to explore a tactile diagram with speech and sound.
01. ClickPad – Audio-tactile images – Introduction
The TactileView ClickPad is a clipboard, on which a tactile image is placed. Combined with the TactileView digital pen and the TactileView software, the ClickPad functions as a touch screen. On this, a VIP (Visually Impaired Person) can explore an audio-tactile image; a tactile image that contains audible information as well. The digital pen is used as a click and point device similar to a computer mouse, and tells the computer on which position of the image has been clicked. The software then plays any audio information that is present at the clicked position.
