2013.20.4

Model R1C Optacon

Telesensory Systems, Inc.

(a)dark brown leather case, stitched together with leather thongs; single interior brass snap on left; fold over flap on top with two brass snaps; single leather loop and two brass snaps on either side for shoulder strap; two open slots in bottom of case reveal jacks on bottom of the Optacon while in use; yellow Dynatape label on front, "READING AID FOR THE BLIND"; black Dynatape label on front, "PAUL FILPUS/ELKHART INDIANA/219 264-3047"; (b) 1" wide leather shoulder strap with pad in middle and two brass snaps on each end; (c) black aluminum Optacon, Model R1C, rectangular with angled front; blue faceplate on front; compartment on front holds cylinder like camera unit attached to front with cord, also in front compartment, on bottom, is the tactile simulator array; on back of unit are jack for battery charger, red battery check button, invert/normal toggle, green 20-pole jack, and label, "TELESENSORY SYSTEMS, INC. PALO ALTO, CALIF/ SERIAL R209-009"; service history label is adhered to bottom; (d) dark brown plastic battery charger; rectangular with gilled vents on top; plastic power cord and mini-jack cable; label, "TSI OPTACON BATTERY CHARGER R16032."

1974

Telesensory Systems, Inc.

Palo Alto, CA

The Optacon converted printed images to tactile images. The user held the lens module in one hand and moved it over reading material, placing the index finger of the other hand on the finger plate. The print images were converted to vibrating metal rods, the tips of which protruded through the finger plate, making a pattern of the tactile image. Each image was felt sequentially, right to left, as the rods vibrated.
Donor lost sight in a car accident in 1970 at age 29. A former civil engineer, he retrained as a computer programmer and went to work for Miles Laboratories in Elkhart, IN. The lab purchased the Optacon for Filpus in 1974, enabling him to read computer printouts directly. It was slow, and once Filpus acquired a LED-120 braille embosser, he rarely used his Optacon.

Gift of Paul Filpus, 2013.20