Braille Tablet Draws Support & Interest from Indiana's Manufacturing and Military Communities

Leonard McDowell recently announced our investment in Tactile Engineering and the revolutionary braille tablet David Schleppenbach and his team have created which is changing the futures of the blind and visually impaired. Now referred to as The Cadence, the #braille tablet continues to gain a groundswell of interest and support.

This week, we have been in meetings with manufacturers and military personnel. There is a growing need for this groundbreaking technology among the millions of veterans who are visually impaired. The Veteran Administration's Office of Blind Rehabilitation Services estimates that at least 130,000 Veterans in the United States are legally blind, and more than a million veterans have vision impairment significant enough to impact their ability to perform basic daily activities.

It is always emotional to see hope on the faces of those who are able to interact with the tablet for the first time, especially when the reality of its life-changing potential hits them. For many, the Cadence would offer the ability to obtain employment or further education, in addition to completing basic daily tasks. Other ways the tablet can aid in everyday life include reading menus at restaurants, game-playing between children and adults, receiving and reading medical records privately, and watching live-streamed baseball games in real-time.

David Schleppenbach and Tactile Engineering are on a mission to improve the quality of life for countless individuals by getting this device into the hands of every person who needs it, starting in their home state of Indiana. And, to help manufacture the tablet more quickly and affordably for the Cadence’s growing demand, Indiana manufacturer MPP (Metal Power Products) is stepping up with solutions that would enable Tactile Engineering to reproduce the device more efficiently and affordably to meet the growing demand.

Every day we are learning of new ways this technology could apply to a huge population of blind and visually impaired people, and we stand ready to help make it happen!