The NIST
refreshable Tactile Graphic display from ITL was demonstrated by project leader
John Roberts of the Information Access Division at the NIST booth in the joint
Department of Commerce / Department of Education's Assistive Technology Exhibit
and Policy Forum, which was held on July 27 at DoC Headquarters in
commemoration of the 14th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Distinguished visitors to the NIST booth included the Honorable Bob Dole,
former Senate Majority Leader, Theodore Kassinger, Deputy Secretary of
Commerce, and Gregg Vanderheiden, Director of the Trace R&D Center for
technology for disability at the University of Wisconsin. The NIST display converts
image files into raised patterns on a reusable surface that blind and visually
impaired users can view using the sense of touch, thus demonstrating the first
low-cost refreshable tactile graphic display technology. Also announced at the
Forum was the release of the voluntary National Instructional Materials
Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) for accessible file formats for education. NIMAS
was developed by the National File Format Technical Panel, on which Roberts
served as the NIST representative.
Contact: John Roberts, ext. 5683.