An award-winning product design office uses the Protomold® service from Proto Labs® to help the visually impaired explore with more confidence

Despite some important product innovations for people with impaired hearing, IN3G is perhaps better known for designing and creating a device for the visually impaired, called Télétact. The product's final trade name has yet to be decided. What is certain, though, is that Télétact is an ingenious, award winning creation, consisting of a small, inconspicuous box fixed to a traditional white cane. Inside the box is a device that projects an infrared beam ahead - up to a height of 70cm, and to the sides of the user, to detect obstacles and hazards. If the beam is interrupted, the user feels a vibration on the cane, which varies in intensity according to the proximity of the obstacle. Roger Leroux: 'We originally found Proto Labs when we searched the Internet for ideas about how we could make parts for a previous product. We had our first experience with the company in 2011, which allowed us to see the potential of rapid injection moulding. Proto Labs inspired us to use their services again for the Télétact project, relying on the skills of their engineers to guide us." He adds: "The interactive, online system ProtoQuote® developed by Proto Labs is amazingly useful. We loaded a 3D model of the parts, and the system showed us the corrections we needed to make on the wall thicknesses, etc. Together with the direct support from Proto Labs' engineers, we were able to optimise the part and the mould design and, of course, the price for the parts." After two phases of prototypes, IN3G asked Proto Labs to launch the manufacture of moulds to produce parts for twelve hundred Télétact test devices. Once the development was complete, IN3G made 500 working examples. Roger Leroux recalls how he particularly valued the suggestions made by Proto Labs' engineers during regular exchanges. Uncertainties were cleared up, questions were answered and technical issues were explained, fully. As a result, the process was made more efficient and the final costs of the project were reduced. The main case and the battery compartment are manufactured by Proto Labs. The shells of the main case are black polycarbonate to protect the infrared system from external light. As well as the power source, the battery box contains electronic cards and the vibration device. "With regards the choice of polycarbonate as the final material, we learned a lot from the samples and advice provided by Proto Labs," says Mr. Leroux. "We examined the way the material extrudes, how wall thickness is affected, and the surface finish we could expect. Thus, we built up a practical understanding of the potential pitfalls and what to avoid. In summary, he concludes: "The parts manufactured by Proto Labs were right first time. Thanks to them, we can say that the development process for the Télétact has been very time and cost efficient."