Sensory substitution is a phenomenon whereby one physical sense is used in place of another to transmit information to the brain. Here at ForeThought Development we have concentrated our efforts towards the development of systems that use the sense of touch to channel information to the brain. The majority of our efforts have dealt with exploiting today's state-of-the-art electronics in order to further advance the research and development of tactile aids for the blind, but our technology is being increasingly employed in other areas of research and development. The background design for this page is based on a scanned image of our flexible array technology utilized in our electro-tactile feedback systems.

Uses for Tactile Sensory Substitution

• Enhancing accessibility for the blind
• To enhance access to computer graphical user interfaces
• To enhance mobility in controlled environments
• To allow for learning of visual concepts
• Communication of visual information to the brain in situations where the visual system is already overloaded
• Race car drivers
• Airplane pilots
• Operating rooms
• Audio to Tactile Converters
• Virtual Reality
• Telerobotic Manipulators
• Prosthetic Limbs

General background information about sensory substitution.

Technical information about the Videotact.

The VideoTact as a tactile interface to Microsoft Windows.

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