We know of only one 3D modeling tool where that’s possible – without requiring each user become an expert in 3D modeling. All of this is to say that users need to be given control over the keyguard design. To complicate matters further, users have lots of flexibility in how they organize the content in their apps. The number of possible choices for tablet, tablet case, and AAC app, make it impossible to design a few keyguards that will meet everyone’s needs. Hybrid apps are largely grid-based but their keyguards can be enhanced by selectively exposing specific regions of the app, adding engraved text, or cutting out parts of the edge of the keyguard so it can fit in an oddly shaped case. Others are much more creative and unpredictable in their layouts. Many AAC apps organize their content into a grid of rows and columns with menus and message bars, above or below the grid. –Is it possible to get a complete AAC system for $96? Yes it is.

The slide deck is available for download here. If you have more time, the following video is of a 3.5 hour workshop, entitled “3D-Printed Keyguards – from Soup to Nuts”, that I lead as part of the Assistive Technology Conference of New England 2021-2022. Watch this video to see how your design gets turned into a physical keyguard:įor a sense of the range of keyguards you can produce with this designer, watch the following video:īut how do you print your keyguard design if you don’t have a 3D printer? Watch the video below: Watch this video to see how easy it is to design your own custom keyguard: If that sounds right, read on.ĭesigning a keyguard What’s involved in creating a 3D printed keyguard? This may be necessary if you use an app/tablet/case for which we haven’t created a pre-designed keyguard or if you want to learn more about what’s possible. If that sounds promising, then go here for 3D-printable designs, or go here for laser-cuttable designs. You can choose among the pre-designed and ready-to-print keyguards that we’ve created for the most popular AAC apps on the most popular iPads.There are two ways to obtain a keyguard design: In this case, the apps are associated with Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), however, any tablet app can be supported by designing a free-form keyguard. They do this by physically separating access to specific regions of the tablet screen with rails that rise up from the surface of the tablet. Keyguards give individuals with limited muscle control the ability to point reliably at regions of an app running on a tablet. ( current version of the designer: 58 – updated June 28, 2023)

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