[accessibleimage] Haptic rendering of images

Hi,

Whilst I don't really work in accessibility any more, it's no longer my day job 
but rather something of a part time hobby now, I may be able to combine 
accessibility with my day job, if only in a little way.  I'm currently working 
on my PhD in the field of using haptic devices to aid in collaberative working 
between two parties.  For those of you unfamiliar with the field of haptics, it 
is the study of kinesthetics and cutaneous touch and applying these to generate 
virtual objects that people can touch.  Consider it something akin to touchable 
virtual reality.

Whilst I'm investigating it's application to enhancing collaberation, it 
strikes me that this could be a means by which blind people could gain access 
to images, in fact, Sensable, who make the devices I'm using, cite 
accessibility as one of the potential applications.  So, I'm wondering if 
anyone has had previous experience with using haptic devices and virtually 
generated tactile images.  If so, what were your impressions and did you 
encounter any problems?  I'm fast gaining an understanding of the psychology 
involved with this sort of interface, and it would be interesting to see if 
current psychological thought can't resolve some of the problems that may exist.

Thanks,

Will

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