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September 27, 2004 gh awarded multimillion dollar contract from federal governmentWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A Purdue Research Park company, gh LLC, will provide visually impaired and print-disabled federal employees with accessible training materials and documents under a new multiyear, multimillion dollar government contract. The company utilizes a content-independent media conversion process to offer a full range of media formats and software applications that make print material more accessible to people who are coping with blindness, low vision, learning disabilities or other print disabilities. The majority of this contract will involve documents converted into Braille for use by Internal Revenue Service employees. "The IRS employs a large number of visually-impaired individuals - about 1,200 - who must be retrained each year due to annual changes in the tax code," said David Schleppenbach, gh's CEO and co-founder. "Our Braille Digital Talking Books and tactile graphics will help those IRS employees with visual disabilities to stay competitive in the workplace." gh technology will enable visually and print-disabled IRS employees to more easily locate information in various IRS forms and publications using materials created as Digital Talking Books and rendered in Digital Talking Book players developed by gh. The gh PLAYER(tm) is the most advanced Digital Talking Book player currently available, Schleppenbach said. Key features on the gh PLAYER(tm) include text-to-speech functionality, digital magnification, enhanced search and navigation modes, and a tool for bookmarking. As part of this contract, the gh PLAYER(tm) will include the first commercial release of an introductory version of Mathspeak(tm). Mathspeak(tm) allows visually impaired people to assimilate complex mathematical and scientific formulas. "Without actually seeing a mathematical equation, for example x plus y over 3, the learner can become easily confused by its potential variations," Schleppenbach said. Mathspeak(tm) is software technology developed by gh in collaboration with Purdue University and with support from the Indiana 21st Century Research and Technology Fund. The fund's director, Anthony T. Armstrong, commended the company for its entrepreneurial focus. "Within a year after receiving close to $1 million in 21st Century funding, gh and their partners at Purdue have developed a technology that is ready to go to market. This is the type of accelerated activity the 21st Century Fund is trying to initiate in order to help stimulate and strengthen Indiana's economy." Schleppenbach said he expects to hire a handful of additional employees within the next six months in response to the increased workload. Research and development will grow along with production as the company plans further advances to the gh PLAYER(tm), including features applicable to the deaf as well as English-language learners. The gh PLAYER(tm) 2.0 is compliant with standards (ANSI/NISO Z39.86-2002) adopted by the DAISY (Digital Accessible Information SYstem) Consortium and the National Information Standards Organization (NISO), which define the format and content of the electronic file set that comprises a digital talking book. The gh PLAYER offers support for DAISY 3.0/NISO books and DAISY 2.02 audio books. gh LLC was founded in 2000 by two former Purdue students, Joe Said and Schleppenbach, and employs 37 people, most of whom are former or current Purdue students. The company is located in the Purdue Research Park, which encompasses 591 acres in West Lafayette, and is home to the largest university-affiliated, state-of-the-art business incubator complex in the nation. Within the park, 104 businesses, of which 58 are high-tech, employ more than 2,200 people. Writer: Jeanine Phipps, media relations, Purdue Research Park, (765) 494-0748, jeanine@purdue.edu Source: David Schleppenbach, (765) 775-3776, engage@ghbraille.com Dan Cravens, vice president for development, gh LLC, (765) 775-3776 ext. 217, dcravens@ghbraille.com Anthony Armstrong, (317) 233-4332, tarmstrong@21fund.org Note to Journalists: A publication-quality photograph of David Schleppenbach, gh's CEO and co-founder, surrounded by federal training publications converted by gh into Braille is available on the web. PHOTO CAPTION: A publication-quality photo is available at: https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+PurdueResearchPark/Park.Misc.Photos/gh.Schleppenbach.books.jpeg |
