Hello everyone,
Venkatesh from Orbit Research just shared some more exciting news with me
today. We are always looking for more accessible apps for our deaf-blind
students. Please check this out, and let me know if it works well for your
students or not. If not but you see potential for improvement, or if you
want more, you now have a connection to Orbit Research. Hey, it’s free!! J
Best wishes,
Susan
From: v.chari@orbitresearch.com [mailto:v.chari@orbitresearch.com
v.chari@orbitresearch.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 05, 2019 12:22 PM
To: 'Susan Osterhaus' osterhauss@tsbvi.edu
Subject: Introducing Orbit Chat - a face-to-face communication tool for
people who are deaf-blind
Hi Susan,
We have some more exciting news to share – we just announced the launch of
the Orbit Chat™ Communication system today. The system provides a free
solution that enables a deafblind person to use their Orbit Reader 20
braille display and an app running on a smartphone or tablet to communicate
with a sighted, blind or deaf person. The system can be used in any
situation – in public settings such as markets, restaurants and classrooms
or in private conversations.
The system allows a blind, deaf or sighted person to use a familiar chat or
messaging user-interface to type messages using the phone or tablet’s
on-screen keyboard, which are immediately translated and displayed on the
deafblind user’s Orbit Reader 20 device in braille. The deafblind user
types her messages in braille using the braille keypad on the Orbit Reader
20 and these are translated to plain text and instantly displayed on the
phone or tablet. The app is self-voicing, which allows a blind person to
use it to communicate with a deafblind person without needing any special
screen-reading software.
The system also includes other innovative features such as a broadcast mode
which allows the deafblind user to send messages to multiple people who
have the app installed, the ability to save conversations on the Orbit
Reader 20 as well as on the app for later review, a file transfer feature
to exchange files between the Orbit Reader 20 and the phone or tablet. It
allows the use of contracted and uncontracted braille in English and offers
support for other languages through localization. The app is available now
for free download at www.orbitresearch.com/product/orbit-chat.
I am attaching the full text of the press release. I would be grateful if
you could please share this through your network.
With warm regards,
Venkatesh