Project Grant R43EY031628

This National Science Foundation Project Grant of $187,881 will support the development of tactile displays and related research at Chapman University from June 2022 through May 2024 under the Engineering (47.041) program. The university will integrate braille and graphics on a single platform using a small dynamic tactile grid. Researchers will characterize user acceptability of dynamic tactile systems calibrated for individual preferences. An initial 6x6 refreshable tactile grid adhering to...

The National Science Foundation awarded a $275,000 Project Grant to Alchemie Solutions, Inc. under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) to develop a system for generating alternative text descriptions of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) diagrams. The system will produce machine-readable configurations of diagram components and spatial relationships, and generate layered, text-based descriptions matched to a context-driven lexicon. The...

This $272,290 three-year Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Computer and Network Systems will fund the development of visual tactile neural fields (VTNF) for active digital twin generation by robots. The grant supports research by The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania under the NSF's $47.07 million Computer and Information Science and Engineering program. The researchers will create a new VTNF data representation that allows robots to combine visual and...

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation Division of Human Resource Development provides $104,236 to Georgia Tech Research Corporation from August 2021 through July 2023. The funding supports a critical interpretative synthesis study titled "Experiences of Students with Visual Impairments with Tactile Graphics in STEM Courses." The project analyzes how tactile graphics are used to teach science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) concepts to students...

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (CFDA 47.075) program provides $763,142 to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to conduct research on the semantic content of tactile and visual textures for enhancing communication through vision and touch. The key objectives are to: (1) understand the semantics of visual texture for visual communication, and (2) understand the semantics of tactile texture for haptic communication....

This $749,685 National Science Foundation project grant under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) will fund the development of an Automated, Integrated, Multimodal Software (AIMS) system to improve inclusive access to information for persons with disabilities. Saint Louis University leads a consortium that includes software companies Vital, Unar Labs, and Viewplus Technologies to build a unified framework for authoring, converting, and delivering accessible content...

Federal Grant Award Summary Virginia Commonwealth University received a $1,136,734 Project Grant from the National Eye Institute (CFDA 93.867 – Vision Research) beginning August 1, 2025 and concluding March 31, 2030. The project develops a low-cost, real-time system for converting visual diagrams into accessible formats for individuals who are blind or visually impaired (BVIS). The system delivers dual vibrotactile and enhanced visual outputs rendered on aligned, refreshable tactile and visual...

This National Science Foundation Project Grant of $215,000 supports research at the University of California, Los Angeles from September 2022 to August 2025 under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering program (CFDA 47.070). The award funds collaborative research to advance 3D printing capabilities for creating interactive devices with enhanced visual feedback through passive light-transfer properties. Researchers will characterize light-transfer materials and microstructures to...

The National Science Foundation Division of Computer and Network Systems awarded a $337,020 project grant to Stanford University under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering program (CFDA 47.070) to support research on visual tactile neural fields for active digital twin generation. Over a three-year period from October 2022 through September 2025, Stanford researchers will develop new algorithms and computational tools to allow robots to combine visual and tactile sensory data...

Tatum Robotics LLC was awarded a $255,975 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation to develop an accessible robotic system for deafblind communication. Funded through NSF's Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program, the award aims to create a fully compliant anthropomorphic robotic hand capable of fingerspelling tactile sign language at variable speeds. The system will translate between spoken and signed languages to provide deafblind individuals new independence and access to...