manual-en Archives - Page 9 of 12 - Thinkable products for visually impaired people

2.02 First Time Use

Unobstructed drawing

! It is essential that the movement of the MDA’s arm is never obstructed while it is operating. The drawing area and at least five centimetres next to the MDA should be clear of any pens, drawing tools or other objects that could obstruct the arm during movement. If at any time during sketching the MDA’s movement is obstructed, switch the MDA off using the power button at the back. Once turned off, you can manually move the pen and arm out of the way, resolving the obstruction as necessary. !

Now that your MDA is unpacked you’re almost ready to make your first sketch. Plug the power cord into a power socket and the other end into the MDA. The next step differs depending on if you plan on connecting your MDA to your network using a LAN-cable, WiFi, or connecting directly to the mda-hotspot.

If you plan on connecting the MDA to a network via a wired connection, plug a lan cable into the appropriate socket. Next, take a device that is connected to the same network, open your browser and type in the following URL: http://mda/

If you plan on connecting it to your WiFi you first need to connect to the mda-hotspot with a WiFi capable device. Simply select the mda-hotspot WiFi network and enter the following password: 12345678. Once your device is connected to the mda-hotspot, go to your browser and type in the following URL: http://mda/ . Browse to the setup page and enter the password: admin and click continue. Click network setup and look for the WiFi network you want the MDA to connect to. Enter the WiFi password and click Add WiFi Network. The MDA should now connect to your WiFi network. From this point on you can access the MDA from any device that is connected to the same WiFi Network.

If you don’t plan on connecting your MDA to a network at all, use a WiFi capable device and connect to the mda-hotspot network with password 12345678.

Be aware that if you do not connect your MDA to a network that has access to the internet you cannot automatically download updates or new images added to the examples directory.

After connecting your MDA, take your Tactipad and place it on the MDA. You can place it in one of two orientations: landscape, which leaves the 2 Tactinocks uncovered; or portrait, which covers all the 6 Tactinocks. Your Tactipad is placed correctly if you can’t easily move it around without lifting it and the front most edge of the Tactipad is flush with the front most edge of the MDA.
Make sure that you place a sheet of sketching foil on the Tactipad before you attempt your first sketch.

Take a device that is connected to the same network as the MDA (or directly to the MDA) and go the http://mda/ . Browse to the examples page, pick the emoji category, and click on one of the emoji’s to start your first sketch.

That’s it! The MDA should now start sketching. While the motors in the MDA are not particularly strong, you want to make sure to keep your hands clear of the type while it’s sketching to prevent injury.

2.01 Unpacking

Place the box with the address labels facing upwards and cut the tape. Fold away the four cardboard flaps. Once opened, you’ll notice the MDA is packed in two large foam parts on top of which two carton boxes are placed. One box can contain the TactiPad inside its bag, if this was included in the initial purchase. The other one contains a pack of 400 drawing sheets, the power supply and the USB-B cable.
Remove the boxes and lift the MDA out of the box by holding it by its sides. Make sure you lift it up by the sturdy yellow top plate, the one that has the six black anchors for the TactiPad. Do not lift it up by the flexible bottom plate.
Once out of the box, you remove the pieces of foam by lifting one side of the MDA and sliding off the foam part on that side. Carefully place the MDA down again, and repeat this procedure for the other side. While packaged, the arm is in its forward position.
Please store the packaging materials in the carton for safe transportation.

3.04 TactileView Digital Pen Dock

Towards the back, behind the furthest two nocks you’ll find the TactileView Digital Pen Dock. It is about two centimetres in height, eight centimetres wide and has rounded corners. On the back of the dock is a small indentation. This is where you can place the receiver for the TactileView Digital Pen. Simply place the receiver’s magnets inside the indentation and the magnets will click in place. Make sure the wire of the receiver does not obstruct the arm during movement.is not in the way of the arm.

3.03 TactiPad Positioning Nocks

Now slide your hand across the bed of the MDA. You will feel six small blocks that each have one edge that is pointing up. These are L shaped blocks that secure the Tactipad in place during sketching. In portrait orientation, all six nocks are covered by the Tactipad. In landscape orientation the two nocks closest to the back of the MDA are left uncovered.

3.02 Drawing Arm & Sketching Stylus

If you move your hands along the longer sides of the MDA you’ll encounter two parts sticking out of the sides of the MDA opposite each other. These are the arm supports. Following these supports upwards you’ll come across the drawing arm which connects the two arm supports to each other. The drawing arm is covered by a black plastic cover which features the Thinkable logo on the front side. The arm moves from the back to the front of the MDA as needed. This is done automatically, so be careful not to get your hands caught by the MDA as this can result in injury.

If you were to reach inside the arm trough the slot in the bottom of the arm (make sure the MDA is powered off) and move your hand from the right all the way to the left you will come across a circular metal object. This is the magnet and part of the drawing stylus. This part moves up and down when the MDA is sketching, so be careful when the MDA is sketching.

If you slide the flat of your hand across the underside of the drawing arm you will feel a small point sticking out. This is the drawing point of the sketching stylus and will be lowered as needed when sketching on the TactiPad.

! Be careful when the MDA is sketching because the arm and pen point will move automatically and can crush your fingers. !

3.01 Backpanel

When looking at the back of the MDA you’ll find 4 different port types as well as the power button. The back panel is where you turn on the MDA and plug in your cables and USB devices.

From left to right you’ll find the following features:

USB-B port: This port can be used to connect your PC or laptop directly to the MDA using the USB-B cord you received with the MDA. You only need to do this when using TactileView to send sketches to the MDA.
USB-A port × 4: These 4 ports can be used to plug in USB drives to upload images to the MDA. These ports do not support a direct connection from your PC/laptop to the MDA. These ports are also known as “normal” USB ports.
Ethernet port: Use this port to connect the MDA to your local network, or the internet. The LEDs on the port will light up when data is being send or received.
Power socket: Use this port to plug in your power cord.
Power button: This button is used to turn on the MDA. When the MDA is turned on, the centre of the button is recessed and a yellow ring will light up. When the MDA is turned off, the centre of the button is level with the rest of the button and no light can be seen.

1.01 Safety Instructions

! Keep clear of the MDA while it is in operation. !
! Do not insert your fingers into the openings at the sides of the MDA, or into the opening in the bottom of the arm. !
! Do not place items sensitive to magnetism in the proximity of the pen. The pen contains a strong magnet. !

The motors of the MDA are relatively strong and can cause injuries when your fingers are caught between moving parts.

7.04 Mounting MDA to PC/Mac/Tablet

The MDA has the possibility to mount two different MDA directories directly to a PC, Mac or tablet.

The first directory is the MDA-upload directory. Any SVG image that you copy into this directory will appear on the upload page in the MDA interface. The second directory is the MDA-autosketch directory. Any SVG image or GPX formatted file derived from an SVG image will be sketched automatically on the MDA.

In order to mount a directory, both the MDA and the device you want to mount the drive on need to be connected to the same network. You can also connect your device to the MDA’s hotspot. Mounting a drive requires a one-time setup, afterwards the MDA directories are directly and always available on PC, Mac or tablet.

In order to mount the MDA on your device, the following setup actions are required:

On a PC: open “File Explorer”, select “Home”, go to “Easy Access” in the “New” section and select “Map as Drive”. Select a drive letter (like U: for upload, or S: for autosketch). Don’t use the browse option for “Folder” but enter the following in the “Folder” input field: \\mda\MDA-upload (if you changed the name of the MDA from mda to a different name, use the new name instead of mda in this command). Make sure that the box “Reconnect at sign-in” is selected and press “Finish” (if prompted for a login and/or password, type guest for both). Now the MDA-Upload directory is permanently mounted on your PC, accessible under the drive letter that you selected during the setup. When you copy or save a file to this drive, it appears on the upload page of the MDA. Mounting the autosketch directory requires the same procedure as mentioned above, with the exception that you need to enter \\mda\MDA-autosketch in the “Folder” input field. Again, if you changed the default name of the MDA you have to change mda to the new name.
On a Mac, the name of the MDA appears automatically in the “Shared” section of the “Finder”. Click on the name of the MDA (default mda) and click on “Connect as”, continue with “Connect” and enter guest in the name field and password field. Make sure to tick (ü) the box “Remember this password in my keychain” and press “Select”. The MDA-upload directory will from now on be accessible from the Finder. In case you want to connect to the autosketch directory, first you will have to select “disconnect” and then repeat the above procedure, but this time with the loginname autosketch and password autosketch. You will be connected as autosketch instead of guest, although the directory will still called MDA-upload. If you regularly need to switch between upload (guest) and autosketch, do not save your login credentials to “keychain”, but instead enter them every time to access the proper directory.
On an iPad, you can make a connection to the MDA through the “FileBrowser” app, a free app available in the app-store. In FileBrowser, select “Location” in the bottom bar and then “+” in the top bar. Select “Computer/Network Drive” and then “Mac”. The app will start scanning, but you do not need wait for the scan to finish. Instead select “Manual setup”. On the next screen, select “Mac” and enter mda in the “Address” field (or the new name in case you have changed the default name mda). Click “Edit…” in the “User name” field and enter guest, click “Edit…” in the “Password” field and enter guest again. Enter mda in the “Display name” field. By selecting mda from the “locations” tab, you will now have a connection from the iPad to both the MDA-upload directory and the MDA-autosketch directory.
On Android, an connection can be established trough the free “AndSMB” app, which can be downloaded from the Play Store. In AndSMB select the + button in the top bar. On the next screen, enter mda in the “Hostname” field (or the new name in case you have changed the default name mda). In the “Username” and “Password” field enter guest. In the “Remote dir” field enter /MDA-upload. Leave the rest of the fields empty. Click save, and in the pop up window enter mda, or whatever other name you want the drive to have in AndSMB. By selecting AndSMB when selecting “Share” and then selecting the name you gave to the drive in AndSMB files will automatically be uploaded to the upload map.

06. ClickPad – Activating Text to Speech (TTS)

To be able to listen to the included audio-information, a Text to Speech system has to be installed on the computer. The TactileView software needs to have access to this system. Using the settings menu of the software, the language, speech rate and volume for the audio-information can be set.

For information about the installation and use of the TactileView digital pen, please read the TactileView digital pen manual.

05. ClickPad – Exploring with speech and sound

With the tactile image placed on the ClickPad, the digital version of the design has to be opened as a file in the TactileView drawing software. The software then has to be switched from design mode to explore mode, using the digital pen (or the option in the View menu or hotkey Ctrl+E). Using the File menu, a design can also be opened in the explore mode straight away.
This mode also has a menu that can be operated with a long click of the digital pen (open context menu). From here a different file can be selected, matching a different printed tactile image.
By clicking on the tactile image, the audio-information is played. In case there is no audio-information on that location in the image, a ‘no-audio’ sound is played.