- an innovation in tactile writing
iAlphabet
iAlphabet is an innovation in tactile writing. It is a novel writing system in which the letters are designed to look like their mirror images to facilitate tactile handwriting for visually impaired (VI) individuals without the need for any writing aid. This design strategy serves a crucial purpose: when embossed on the paper, it produces a tactile impression that resembles the visual aspect of the letters themselves. For the first time, this allows VI users to write like sighted individuals do, using a conventional pen.
iAlphabet represents a new approach to communication with its mirror-image design, simple structure and tactile features for a new era of understanding and connection among individuals of varying abilities and backgrounds.
iAlphabet is designed to streamline the complexities of written language into a simplified alphabet that is accessible to everyone, regardless of age or cognitive ability. At its core, iAlphabet embraces the idea that effective communication should be available to all individuals—irrespective of their visual abilities or IQ.
iAlphabet, is created in five different languages and is very easy to learn. The VI, for the first time, can enjoy handwriting with an ordinary pen without any additional need for writing aids or gadgets. People with no visual impairment can also enjoy writing in iAlphabet; tests showed they can learn it within an hour.
This new tactile writing system is created in 5 different alphabets:
1- iAlphabet, derived from Latin/English
2- FiAlphbet, from Farsi/Arabic
3- CiAlphabet, from Cyrillic
4- GiAlphabet, from Greek
5- CriAlphabet, from Croatian
Why looking like mirror image:
When imprinting the alphabet by hand, the tactile imprints on the back of the page are reversed, looking like their mirror image. It was thought by designing a new writing system, iAlphabet, to look like its mirror image, the problem of reverse reading could be solved as the raised imprints look just the same. The pictures below of iAlphabet model show the letters writing from right to left look exactly the same when read from left to right.
Writing iAlphabet from right to left
Reading iAlphabet from left to right
iAlphabet was created to make handwriting possible for the VI worldwide with no need for any expensive assistive writing technology, embossing gadgets, or mechanical aids. All that is needed include a piece of paper, a cut of cardboard to place under the paper and an old biro pen.
Writing pad, tactile lined paper and any old pen
Furthermore, iAlphabet due to some similarity to the alphabet can make handwriting possible for those who lose their sight later in life and find learning braille challenging.
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
Albert Einstein: “To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science.”