A robotic hand ‘talks’ to deaf and blind people. Here’s how it works.

Boston Globe

22nd June 2026

A robotic hand ‘talks’ to deaf and blind people. Here’s how it works.

By Hiawatha Bray Globe Staff

Ducharme uses a product called Tatum1, a disembodied mechanical hand plugged upright into a box studded with push buttons.

Developed by Samantha Johnson, a bioengineering graduate of Northeastern University, Tatum1 uses gestures and touch to communicate with people who can neither see nor hear.

The Tatum1 control box keeps it simple. There are buttons marked N for news, W for weather, and M for incoming text messages.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/06/16/business/tatum-robot-asl-sign-language/#:~:text=Ducharme%20uses%20a%20product%20called,can%20neither%20see%20nor%20hear.