Imagine a tablet covered in thousands of tiny pins that pop up and down to form shapes you can feel with your fingertips — like a refreshable version of Braille, but for pictures, charts, and maps too. A German company built exactly that: a device with over 10,500 tactile dots that automatically converts whatever is on a computer screen into something a blind person can touch and read. The trick is a clever mechanical design that keeps costs down by separating the expensive moving parts from the touch surface. After six years of development, they reached a working prototype that blind users can operate without anyone else's help.
Over 2.65 million blind Europeans cannot independently access visual information like charts, maps, spreadsheets, and websites. Current Braille technology only handles text, leaving graphics completely inaccessible. This information barrier drives a 75% unemployment rate among blind people in Europe, locking out talent and creating massive costs for support services and lost productivity.
Inventivio built the world's first interactive tactile display with over 10,500 touch points that converts any on-screen content — text, graphics, charts, maps — into touchable output for blind users. Deliverables include a shock-resistant prototype with 20% less weight and a system-stable prototype achieving 7-10 second page build-up, plus an open software platform for third-party app development.
If you are an assistive technology distributor looking for next-generation products beyond basic Braille displays — this project developed an interactive tactile device with over 10,500 touch points that renders text, graphics, charts, and maps for blind users. The open software platform lets you build custom apps on top of it, creating a new product category in your catalog.
If you are an educational institution struggling to make visual content like maps, charts, and diagrams accessible to blind students — this project built a device that automatically converts screen content into tactile output in 7-10 seconds per page. With 75% unemployment among blind Europeans linked to information barriers, this technology directly addresses the education gap.
If you are a company committed to hiring blind employees but limited by inaccessible spreadsheets, floor plans, and data visualizations — this project created an open software platform that transforms any on-screen information into touchable graphics. It targets the 75% unemployment rate among blind people in Europe by removing information access barriers in the workplace.
The project specifically highlights a breakthrough in cost reduction by dissociating expensive actuators from the number of touch points. Traditional tactile displays cost more per point because each dot needs its own actuator. Exact pricing is not provided in the project data, but the architecture is designed to make thousands of touch points affordable for the first time.
The device reached TRL6 with a system-stable prototype achieving 7-10 second page build-up times and a shock-resistant design with 20% less weight. The open software platform supports third-party app development, which suggests a scalable ecosystem. Manufacturing scale-up details would need to be discussed with the coordinator.
Inventivio GmbH is the coordinating SME and likely holds the core IP after six years of development. The project describes the technology as the 'worldwide first interactive output technology' of its kind. Licensing or distribution arrangements would need to be negotiated directly with Inventivio.
The project explicitly aligns with the European Disability Strategy goals. As a device classified in the accessibility/medical device space, it would need to comply with the European Accessibility Act. The open platform design supports adaptation to different regulatory requirements across markets.
The project ran from April 2021 to December 2023 and reached TRL6 during the EU funding period. The prototype deliverables show a shock-resistant and system-stable device ready for further validation. Based on available project data, commercialization timing depends on final certification and manufacturing ramp-up by Inventivio.
The underlying software platform automatically transforms on-screen information into Braille and tactile graphics. The platform is described as open, with tools available for third-party app development. This suggests integration with existing computer workflows is a core design feature.
This is a lean, industry-only consortium of just 2 SME partners across Germany and Portugal — no universities or research institutes. The 100% industry composition signals a product-focused effort rather than an academic exercise. Inventivio GmbH, the German coordinator, is the core technology developer with six years of prior R&D investment. The small consortium size and SME-2 funding instrument indicate this is a company scaling a near-market product, not a large research collaboration. For a business buyer, this means you would be dealing directly with the technology creator, not navigating a complex multi-partner IP landscape.
Inventivio GmbH is a German SME — the coordinator contact can be found via the project website or through SciTransfer's lookup service.
Want an introduction to the Tactonom team? SciTransfer can connect you with the coordinator to discuss licensing, distribution, or pilot deployment.
