An Israel Start-up – Tactile World has developed a Computer Mouse device for visually impaired and blind people that enable them to interact with computer and web by enabling them to read and understand text as well as graphic objects shown on the computer screen.

The device has has two pads, each with 16 pins along with a supplied software that translates text displayed on the screen into Braille – a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write.

More interestingly what this device for blinds do differently to common computer mouse is,

As the cursor controlled by the mouse is moved across the screen, the pins rise and fall to represent the text across which they are moving. One pad represents the character under the cursor, the other gives the reader information about what is coming next, such as whether it is a letter or the end of the word. This advance information makes interpretation easier.

As the user reads the text, the system also announces the presence of links to other websites. And the user can opt, if he wishes, to have the computer read the whole text out loud.

The device costs around $650 in comparison to Braille readers that costs around 5 to 10 times costlier also the device has graphical support for the first time among devices for visually impaired and much lighter in weight.

At times when every web startups are busy making products for people across the globe, the visually impaired section has been left out of the social networking revolution on web and its a appreciable efforts from companies like Tactile World that these products are being brought up for bridging the gap between normal and blind people.