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12.03 Configuring Network

The upper part of the Network setup page shows information on if you have a wired connection or not. It will alsoshow whether you have a WIFI connection, showing the network name (SSID) of the WIFI connection if you do. If not, it will mentionthat the MDA is working as a WIFI hotspot.

In order to establish a wired connection, simply connect the MDA to your network using the ethernet port at the back. Upon turning on (or rebooting) the MDA, the MDA will configure itself to use this wired connection. For this, it is assumed that your router acts as a DHCP-server (which is the default behaviour for a router).

As mentioned above you can see whether the MDA is connected to a WIFI network or not. If so, you have the possibility to disconnect from this network. When the MDA is not connected to a WIFI network, it shows the available WIFI networks. You can select the appropriate network, and by providing the network credentials (either password for a home network, or user name and password for an Enterprise network), your MDA will connect to this network.

On the lower part of the Network setup page you can change the name of the MDA on the network (default is mda) change the name of the WIFI hotspot network (default is mda-hotspot) and change the wifi password of the hotspot (default is 12345678). You also have to provide the two-digit country code here (see chapter 7.03).

Note that there is no need to change the MDA’s name or hotspot name in case of a single MDA. This only needs to be done if there are multiple MDA’s on your network. In this case the MDA’s should not have the same name nor should they broadcast the same hotspot SSID’s.

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6.05 Interactive

The interaction page allows the user to quickly create tactile sketches for features such as pie charts, clocks and so forth, without having to create/find the SVG file. The user enters the required information in the interface, and the interface creates the rest of the image. This way you can quickly create a table with 3 rows and 4 columns, without having to manually draw the entire table.

At the top of the page you’ll see the last image that was sketched by the MDA. If you click on this image the MDA will start sketching the image again.

Below this you’ll see the different interactive options. The options currently available are:

  • Clock: By entering and submitting the time the clock should display the MDA will automatically generate an analogue and a digital clock with the supplied time.
  • Table: Here you have to submit the orientation of the table, the number of cells per row and column, and the dimensions of the rows and columns.
  • Coordinate system, scaled to fit page: Here you enter the range of the x and y axis, and the interval with which the indicators should appear on the axis. You can then select whether you want the indicators to sketched and if so, what you want the indicators should look like. Lastly, it will scale the coordinate system so that it will fit on the page. This means that if you enter that the x and y axis should go from -100 to +100, it will scale the image down so the entirety of the coordinate system will fit on the page. It was sketched 1:1 you’d need a page that’d be 200 by 200 cm’s to fit the entire coordinate system.
  • Coordinate system, scale 1:1 : The same as above, only now the coordinate system will not be scaled. If you make a coordinate system that would be too large for the page, you’ll get an error message.
  • Pie chart – 100%: A pie chart where the parts are represented as percentages. It will allow you to fill in the number of segments, and then how much % each segment will be.
  • Pie chart – ratio’s: A pie chart where the parts are represented as fractions. It will allow you to fill in the number of segments, and then which fraction of the whole each segment will be.
  • Measuring cup: A measurement cup will be drawn, and be filled to percentage that you submit. It is possible to first only draw the cup, and then separately draw the filling level with a second sketch.
  • Text: Enter 1-5 lines of text, with a maximum of 12 characters per line. The text will be sketched.
  • Rectangular block: a 2-D representation of a 3-D block. Input the main dimensions and the 3 rotation angles. The block can be sketched with and without hidden lines. There is an option for the sketch to auto-scale the sketch on the drawing foil, and an option to make the dimensions on the sketch be equal to the dimensions given during the input.
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11.04 Apple Mac

Apple Mac applications that generate SVG format images can be used to create images that can be sketched on the MDA, either automatically, or they can be saved to be sketched later.

Examples of this are, applications like Adobe’s Illustrator, or free software tools like Inkscape or Vectr that run under MacOS and can create SVG format images.

In order to sketch directly from those applications to the MDA, you have to setup the connection from your PC to the MDA using the mount option, as described in chapter 7.04 (section on Mac). Then save your files to the drive you’ve created as per chapter 7.04.

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13.01 Troubleshooting

This section lists the issues that have occasionally happened during tests, and how to solve them should they occur again.

Arm blocked

If the movement of the arm has been obstructed, shut the MDA down with the on/off switch at the back. See section 2.02 “Unobstructed drawing”.

Lost connection (TactileView)

In some cases, TactileView will lose the connection with the MDA after it has been running for a while. The simplest way to solve this is to restart TactileView; the MDA should then function normally again.

Interface not accessible

First try restarting your browser. If this does not solve the problem, restart the MDA.

No connection possible (TactileView)

When the MDA still fails to respond after restarting TactileView, first check if all the cables are connected correctly. Next, check if the COM port (see chapter 10.01) is still entered correctly.

Drawing foil tears

The drawing foil is very thin and can tear when too much force is applied. To stop this from happening again, make sure the drawing foil is fixed on the TactiPad as tight as possible. Avoid drawing too many intersecting lines, as these will weaken the foil. Lastly, make sure to replace the foil before between each drawing.

Slow or jittery movement (TactileView)

When the MDA does not operate as smoothly as it normally would, it is best to switch it off and restart TactileView.

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10.04 Design Limitations

Supported object types

Currently, only a limited number of different drawing tools are supported for plotting with the MDA. Other objects can still be added to the TactileView design, but will not be drawn by the MDA. Support for the other object types, as well as bitmap images and the retouching tools is planned for a future release.

The objects that are currently supported are: Straight line, Square/rectangle, Circle/ellipse, Triangle, Polygon; there is limited support for Path/curved shape, which will be drawn as a polygon with straight line segments between the anchor points.

You can use the example MDA designs to get an idea of what is currently supported.

Object properties

Object properties are either unsuitable for the MDA (such as variable line thickness) or currently not yet supported (such as line style or textures). Overlapping objects will still be drawn completely, without taking transparency into account.

In other words, only the full outline of the object will currently be drawn.

Object drawing order

The objects will currently be drawn on the TactiPad in the order that they appear in the list of objects. In the future, we plan to automatically optimize the drawing order of the elements in the design to minimize drawing times.

For now, you can visualize the order in which they will be drawn by selecting ‘Screen elements’ from the second horizontal toolbar, then enabling Show object stacking. This will show the order in which the objects are drawn, starting with the highest number and ending with object 1. If you wish to change the object order, select the object and choose ‘To front’ or ‘To back’ from the object’s context menu or properties toolbar.

Braille labels

Currently, drawing braille texts with the MDA is not yet supported; further research is needed to determine whether braille characters can be drawn, but the first results are very encouraging.

Curved shapes – workaround

Curved shapes (Bezier curves) are currently not yet supported; instead, the best alternative is to use a polygon (a shape with straight line segments) and use anchor points that are close enough together so the overall shape still feels like a continuous curve.

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12.04 Configuring Hotspot

On the Network setup page, you can see whether the MDA is connected to a WIFI network or is functioning as a WIFI-hotspot. If the MDA is connected to a WIFI network, disconnect from this network and the MDA will reconfigure itself to start acting as a WIFI hotspot again. If you then connect to a WIFI network again, the WIFI-hotspot functionality will stop. This means that the MDA can either be connected to a network (either wired or wireless), or can be a WIFI hotspot.

On the lower part of the Network setup page you can change the name of the MDA on the network (default is mda), change the name of the WIFI hotspot network (default is mda-hotspot) and change the wifi password of the hotspot (default is 12345678). You also have to provide the two-digit country code here (see chapter 7.03).

Note that there is no need to change the MDA’s name or hotspot name in case of a single MDA. This only needs to be done if there are multiple MDA’s on your network. In this case the MDA’s should not have the same name nor should they broadcast the same hotspot SSID’s.

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12.01 Owner/Administrator registration

Owner/Administrator registration

If the MDA is connected to the internet, you can register your MDA with Thinkable by providing the requested information on the Owner/Administrator registration page. Upon registration you will receive future information on developments and on updates of the MDA.

Note that a number of the fields are mandatory. The password you enter will not be send nor stored with Thinkable, the password is only stored locally. If you forget your password, you have the possibility to request a new password, which will be send to the email address you have provided during registration.

If you have registered earlier and enter the registration page again, existing data is shown (note that this includes the password, although the password is only shown as ****). You can modify any of your registered data at any time by making changes to the appropriate fields any than resubmit your registration data. Note that you do not have to re-enter your password if you do not intend to modify this.

If you have no internet connection, you can still partially register your MDA, although the registration data will not be shared with Thinkable. Note that in this case, you can only provide a temporary password, as we wouldn’t be able to supply you with a new password in case you forgot your current password. See also chapter 12.02 on more information on default and temporary passwords.

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11.03 Windows

Windows applications that generate SVG format images can be used to create images that can be sketched on the MDA, either automatically, or they can be saved to be sketched later.

Examples of this are, applications like Adobe’s Illustrator, or free software like Inkscape or Gimp that run under Windows and can create SVG format images.

In order to sketch directly from those applications to the MDA, you have to setup the connection from your PC to the MDA using the mount option, as described in chapter 7.04 (section on PC). Then save your files to the drive you’ve created as per chapter 7.04.

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11.02 iOS

iOS apps that generate SVG format images can be used to create images which can be automatically sketched on the MDA, or can be saved on the MDA to be sketched later.

There are a number of apps available in the App-Store. As an example on how to create and upload an SVG image from the iPhone or iPad to the MDA, we will show you how to do so with  “Vectornator Pro”. For our purpose an app like “Vectornator Pro” is excellent, as it is easy to work with, has the capability to create images in a number of formats (one of which is SVG), and can be used together with an app that can be used for uploading the resulting image to the MDA, ie. the “FileBrowser” app.

In order to sketch directly from an iPad/iPhone to the MDA, you have to setup the connection from your device to the MDA using the “FileBrowser” app. The setup for “FileBrowser” needs to be done once, as described in chapter 7.04 (section on iPad).

To create and sketch an image with “Vectornator” and your iPad with, do the following:

Start “Vectornator”, select “New Document” and then select “A4”, either Landscape or Portrait (selectable in the top-right corner). “Vectornator” then creates a new empty document on its document overview page. You can modify the document name by clicking on the name and enter a new description. Click on the empty document itself and start drawing with the drawing tools on the left side bar.

Upon completion, select the “share/export” icon  in the top-right-hand corner and then select the “SVG” option, select “Save” and then select “Copy to FileBrowser”.

“FileBrowser” now opens with a popup mentioning that you have to browse to the folder you would like to save the file to. Click OK to close this popup and select “mda” in the left bar (or whatever other name you have used for the MDA in your setup).  You now see two directories of the MDA on the right-hand side. Select MDA-autosketch if you want to have your image being sketched directly and then deleted, or select MDA-upload if you want to have your image being saved in the upload directory, so you can sketch later from the upload page of the MDA interface. After selecting one of the two folders, press “Paste 1 item here…” at the top right corner and then press “Paste 1 item” again.  Your image is now either been sketched directly or available for you to sketch later.