I am very excited to announce the new Tobii ATI C series of
communication devices, if for no other reason that an AAC company has finally put hot swap batteries in their new AAC device. Hot swap batteries, the ability to change batteries while the device is running instead of having to plug the device in is as close to a "deal breaker" as I can come when I am looking at at a device without a student in mind. Hot swap batteries means a student can go into the community, on field trips or to work without worries of "running out of juice" and either being voiceless or being tethered by their AC adapter.
The C series devices run on the Tobii Communicator software, which I have not seen, and is capable of recorded or digitized speech and can be used for text or symbol based communication. The symbols used are SymbolStix (from the News-2You people, about 15,000 symbols). It doesn't say if there is an option to use other symbols such as Boardmaker. Otherwise the devices seem to be comparable to other devices on the market. The C8 is smaller and the C12 larger weighing in at 4 and 6.5 pounds. You can add premium features like text messaging, e-mail and the internet to the software if you wish. There are the usual multiple means of access including touch screen and switches. You can also add the eye gaze control that Tobii is most famous for (meaning that there is now eyegaze avaliable from every major AAC company - Tobii ATI, PRC and Dynavox). The C series is compatiable with all of the major mounting devices. You can personalize the style of the C series by changing the side panels to different colors.
Considering the Tobii ATI company (or part of it) is located in my home state perhaps I will get a chance to give you all more information soon.
communication devices, if for no other reason that an AAC company has finally put hot swap batteries in their new AAC device. Hot swap batteries, the ability to change batteries while the device is running instead of having to plug the device in is as close to a "deal breaker" as I can come when I am looking at at a device without a student in mind. Hot swap batteries means a student can go into the community, on field trips or to work without worries of "running out of juice" and either being voiceless or being tethered by their AC adapter.The C series devices run on the Tobii Communicator software, which I have not seen, and is capable of recorded or digitized speech and can be used for text or symbol based communication. The symbols used are SymbolStix (from the News-2You people, about 15,000 symbols). It doesn't say if there is an option to use other symbols such as Boardmaker. Otherwise the devices seem to be comparable to other devices on the market. The C8 is smaller and the C12 larger weighing in at 4 and 6.5 pounds. You can add premium features like text messaging, e-mail and the internet to the software if you wish. There are the usual multiple means of access including touch screen and switches. You can also add the eye gaze control that Tobii is most famous for (meaning that there is now eyegaze avaliable from every major AAC company - Tobii ATI, PRC and Dynavox). The C series is compatiable with all of the major mounting devices. You can personalize the style of the C series by changing the side panels to different colors.
Considering the Tobii ATI company (or part of it) is located in my home state perhaps I will get a chance to give you all more information soon.
