Nexus Engineering proposes to develop a novel instrument which can serve as a telecommunication device for the hearing or speech impaired, and which can also serve as a speech surrogate for personal communications. The new device differs from existing TDD's primarily in its extreme compactness. The device dimensions, when folded, should be about 3" x 4" x .6", which will allow it to be conveniently carried throughout everyday activities. This will provide ready access to pay phones and other phones away from TDD's for the deaf or speech impaired. In the Phase I a fully functional prototype will be designed, constructed, and tested. Research into the form factor and functioning of the proposed keyboard will be performed, and hearing or speech impaired persons will be trained in its use. The time needed to achieve satisfactory data input speed will be documented.
Thesaurus Terms: biomedical engineering, biomedical equipment development, deaf aid, telecommunication hearing disorder, speech disorder, training human clinical subject
