Tactonom · Improve the personal, professional and financial independence of blind people by enabling them to access any information without the help of others.

The 2.65 M blind Europeans are strongly disadvantaged in education, employment, mobility and participation in society. Thisis caused by the fact that current output technologies only relate text. Spreadsheets, charts, graphics, maps, images,websites, floor plans and many other information types represent an almost insurmountable barrier. The inability to accessinformation impedes the personal, professional and financial independence and leads to an unemployment rate of 75 %(source: RNIB) amongst blind people in Europe.In six years Inventivio has developed the worldwide first interactive output technology that enables blind people to accessany information without the help of others. Due to its large tactile matrix with more than 10.500 tactile dots, the blind user canread text and graphics with the fingertips.The underlying software platform automatically transforms the information on the computer screen into Braille letters(alphabet for the blind) and tactile graphics. The software platform is open and a wide range of tools is made available tosimplify the development of apps.The system has reached TRL6 and is based on a break-through technology that is radically cheaper per tactile point thanthe industry standard. This is achieved by dissociating the expensive actuators from the number of touch points used in thedevice. By dissociating these, it becomes possible to offer the thousands of touch points needed to display graphics at anaffordable price.The Tactonom’s mission is to provide informational autonomy and enable blind people to lead a personally, professionallyand financially more independent life. This is achieved by providing access to any information without the help of others andthus caters to the goals of the European Disability Strategy.With the Tactonom, Inventivio plans to help reduce the unemployment rate amongst blind people in Europe by 10 % withinthe next 10 years and enable 87.600 Europeans to access a job.