The touch pad developed by the start-up Touch2See reproduces the matches, via vibrations and haptic feedback for visually impaired spectators.
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According to l’OMS, 253 million people are visually impaired worldwide. A figure that should double by 2050. In France, they are 1,7 million to suffer from a visual impairment, including 207,000 who are blind. However, only 10% of websites are accessible to them, while 80% of them use a computer. In sport, barely 3% of stadiums are audio-described and accessible to the visually impaired. A distressing situation that technology can now partially remedy, as for example with Touch2See which revolutionizes the experience of visually impaired spectators with a tablet to follow the progress of a match through touch.
A sensory and immersive experience thanks to artificial intelligence
The solution designed by the Toulouse start-up transmits in real time data captured by cameras located in the stadium and converts it using artificial intelligence into a sensory and immersive experience. The touch pad then reproduces on a miniature sports field the movements of the players with the ball, the passes and the shots, via vibrations and haptic feedback that the user perceives by touch. The experience is enriched with an automatically generated audio description which informs about the name of the players in action, the playing time, the score and even the faults.
Touch2See, a young start-up from Toulouse, makes the monitoring of sporting events accessible to the visually impaired. © Touch2See
About fifteen sports concerned
Developed with the support and investment of four international groups (Orange, Intel, Ericsson and the CEA), the solution has been tested since January 2023 during Ligue 1 matches at the Toulouse Stadium and at the Orange Vélodrome in Marseille. Currently developed for football, it will then be available for around fifteen other sporting events such as tennis, rugby and even basketball. The start-up was also the winner of the Challenge Eventech d’Orange for the Paris Olympic Games in 2024 and should be officially boarded in the stadiums by the Paris 2024 organizing committee!
Article written in partnership with Hello Future, Orange’s research and innovation site