Follow us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • AppStore
  • RSS
Azernews.Az
Friday January 15 2021
  • Latest
  • Nation
  • World
  • Business
  • Oil & Gas
  • Armenian Aggression
  • Nagorno-karabakh conflict
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Lifestyle
  • Events
  • Healthcare
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Travel
Home
  • Home
  • Nation
  • World
  • Business
  • Oil & Gas
  • Armenian Aggression
  • Nagorno-karabakh conflict
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Lifestyle
  • Events
  • Healthcare
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Travel

Feelif technology: Feeling life under your fingers

24 June 2017 09:00 (UTC+04:00)
22 396

By Maja Prijatelj Videmšek
Delo

Photo: Jure Eržen

Mia, an elementary school student at the IRIS Centre for the Blind and Visually Impaired Youth, is sliding her finger on the tablet screen covered with a special grid. By following the vibrating points, she skillfully detects the shape of a square on the screen. She then tries to solve the Memory Game and is delighted each time she finds compatible plates with animal motifs and is rewarded with appropriate animal sounds. She is already familiar with the Feelif device as she has tried it several times, and she is also contributing to its development with her suggestions. This innovation from 4WEB in Slovenia will not only make her life easier but can also improve the lives of millions of other blind and visually impaired people around the world.

The blind and visually impaired can be very skillful at using tablets and smartphones with touchscreens. The groundbreaking innovation of the Feelif multimedia device now enables them to feel the shapes of objects on one-dimensional surfaces too. Until now, the closest thing to this was a Braille graphic screen which displays shapes with raised pins but it is prohibitively expensive: it costs around 50,000 euros. Only educational institutions for the blind and visually impaired are able to afford it.

Feelif is about a hundred times cheaper. Željko Khermayer, the inventor and founder of the digital agency 4WEB, claims that this device can open up new dimensions of using information in a digital format, such as feeling shapes, making drawings, and using interactive stories. This ability may come naturally to those who can see but until now it was inaccessible to the blind and visually impaired.

A tool for learning Braille and geometry

Željko had the Feelif idea in 2013 while watching a documentary on the deaf-blind community in Slovenia. He was deeply touched by the fact that these people were deprived of many experiences due to their loss of vision, and they were also cut off from the rest of the world because of the high costs of communication technology. He decided to help.

Željko then started developing innovative technology for the blind and visually impaired, like applying vibrations, sounds, and voices to help users identify shapes displayed on the tablet screen or which they drew themselves. The small elevated points on the grid allow for better orientation as the user slides his or her fingers on the screen.

The Feelif was developed with the help of elementary school students and therefore the content is focused on school subjects, says Katarina Pavšek, a member of the 4WEB team. The application will be very useful for learning Braille and geometrical functions, and will enable quicker learning and independent studying. 4WEB is also looking for ways to apply the technology to adults. They are testing a device on the Slovenian market and the first users will receive it within a month.

As it is meant to be fun, the Feelif will also stimulate the learning process. It is well-known that blind and visually impaired children often have a hard time staying attentive. “They need more encouragement during their learning process,” explains Katarina. She adds that existing learning methods are still needed to help children get fine motor skills.

10 year old Damjan who lost his sight due to an illness was most excited about being able to draw. “If you draw with a pencil, you can not feel shapes with your fingers. With Feelif this has becomes a possibility. It's really easy to learn how to use it,” says Damjan.

Mrs. Maja Koritnik, mother of a visually impaired child remarks, “Parents of blind and visual impaired kids see the benefit of Feelif’s work in a simple and innovative approach; the source of the idea is a honest readiness to help others, and at the same time the idea is a reflection of social responsibility Feelif’s team.” 

88 million potential users

The Feelif multimedia device consists of a tablet, a relief grid placed over a screen, and an application which connects all these parts into an experience that can be felt by the fingers of a blind person. It costs 500 euros. "When we are sure that the product is at an excellent level, we will make it available on the global market: first in European countries, and later in the USA," says Katarina. There are about 14 million potential users of the device in both markets, and 88 million potential users worldwide.

The company is also developing an open platform which will create a network of people linked to the blind and visually impaired: the blind and visually impaired themselves, their parents, their teachers, and those who want to create appropriate content for them. This platform will facilitate the sharing or selling of content, which in turn could create new business opportunities for the blind and visually impaired, and their parents.

4WEB is searching for funding to develop this open platform, but considering their success as an innovator, this shouldn’t be too hard. At this year’s Webit Europe Festival in Sofia, Bulgaria, they were the second best innovation among 2,425 startup companies. 4WEB also won the Slovenian competition of social innovations and was one of the five finalists at the Podim conference for startup companies in the Alpe-Adria region. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) listed the Feelif device is one of the 150 best innovations in the world. Željko Khermayer, the founder and CEO of the company, has also been named as one of the 100 most influential innovators in Central and Eastern Europe.

 

 

Category News

Shaping a better future together

Shaping a better future together

16 June 2018 09:02
Electric Rain

Electric Rain

16 June 2018 09:01
Can access apps make cities wheelchair-friendly?

Can access apps make cities wheelchair-friendly?

16 June 2018 09:00
Painting the world for people who don’t see color

Painting the world for people who don’t see color

16 June 2018 09:00
Dancing Parkinson’s disease away

Dancing Parkinson’s disease away

16 June 2018 09:00
TIPA: 'Plastic' film you can compost

TIPA: 'Plastic' film you can compost

16 June 2018 09:00
An app for diagnosing dementia

An app for diagnosing dementia

16 June 2018 09:00
Learning to breed wild bees

Learning to breed wild bees

16 June 2018 09:00
Transforming plastic waste into paving stones

Transforming plastic waste into paving stones

16 June 2018 09:00
Saving lives in Senegal through Hope

Saving lives in Senegal through Hope

16 June 2018 09:00
  • Latest
  • Popular
17:51 • Azerbaijan's medical authority talks effectiveness of Sinovac vaccine
17:40 • Azerbaijani FM meets with ICESCO Director General
17:27 • Azerbaijan's Ministry of Economy to contribute to turning Karabakh into prosperous region
17:21 • First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva: I am very happy to be in our liberated ancient city of Shusha [VIDEO]
17:15 • Azerbaijani manat significantly undervalued against US dollar, study finds
17:05 • Country registers 349 new COVID-19 cases
17:00 • Azerbaijan shows video footage from Boyuk Marjanli village of Jabrayil district [PHOTO/VIDEO]
16:55 • Ukraine excludes Azerbaijan from list of dangerous countries due to COVID-19
16:48 • Precious metal prices up in Azerbaijan
16:35 • State Fire Service of Azerbaijani MES starts work in Khanlyg village of Gubadli district
16:12 • Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev forming new economic map of region
15:45 • Azerbaijan Woman Awards to be held in Baku [PHOTO]
15:42 • FMs of Russia and Iran to discuss situation around Nagorno-Karabakh
15:26 • President Erdogan receives first dose of Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine
15:19 • Azerbaijan repatriates 250 citizens from Georgia
15:00 • Chief editor of Trend News Agency beats COVID-19, grateful to First VP Mehriban Aliyeva
14:50 • PASTPRESENTFUTURE solo-show of Azerbaijani Aida Mahmudova presented in New York
14:47 • Azerbaijan's CAERC talks on activities of Economic Laboratory Analysis in 2020
14:27 • TOTAL committed to joint projects with Azerbaijan despite France's biased position [PHOTO]
14:21 • Unblocking of transport routes in S.Caucasus to become another motive for mutual investments - analyst
14 January 19:23 • Pakistan always close to Azerbaijan – Army general
11:20 • Azerbaijan warns Armenia over illegal visits to Nagorno-Karabakh
14 January 18:50 • Turkey thoroughly observed recent meeting in Moscow - FM
14 January 19:05 • Azerbaijani FM, Pakistani president express determination to further develop co-op [PHOTO]
14 January 18:36 • Gold price down in Azerbaijan
10:00 • Azerbaijan among TOP-5 happiest countries
14 January 18:23 • Nizami Ganjavi Int'l Center starts work for 2021 being declared Year of Nizami Ganjavi [PHOTO]
14 January 18:10 • State Property Service under Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy to hold new privatization auction
12:15 • President, First Lady visit liberated Shusha, Fuzuli [UPDATE]
12:25 • Defence Ministry sapper units continue to demine liberated territories
13:35 • Azerbaijan to build 37-storey building for its Central Bank
12:47 • Mud volcano erupts in Gobustan
14:27 • TOTAL committed to joint projects with Azerbaijan despite France's biased position [PHOTO]
11:59 • Azerbaijan's PM signs order on restoration of facilities damaged in Patriotic War
12:30 • National judokas win silver medals in Qatar [PHOTO]
10:50 • Presentation of books on Azerbaijan's Karabakh in Kazakh language held [PHOTO/VIDEO]
13:10 • Albanian temples in previously occupied Azerbaijani lands transformed into Armenian Gregorian churches
13:50 • ICESCO proposes to declare Shusha as capital of Islamic world [PHOTO]
10:23 • Azerbaijani defence chief, Japanese envoy mull military cooperation
11:38 • Azerbaijani FM meets with Prime Minister of Pakistan
See more
AzerNews Newspaper
AzerNews
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • RSS

Information

About us Contacts Advertising Azernews In Print

News Archive

© 2021 AzerNews. All rights reserved