The SNAB launches Acustica

First Swiss watch for visually and hearing-impaired The Swiss National Association of and for the Blind (SNAB) is launching Acustica, the first Swiss made speaking and vibrating watch.

Developed in cooperation with watch companies in Western Switzerland, its aim is to improve the quality of life for people whose can no longer see well or have lost their sight altogether, or whose vision and hearing are both impaired.

“For many years, the SNAB has been selling speaking watches to blind, visually impaired or those suffering from both disabilities”, said Stephan Mörker, head of the SNAB’s department of auxiliary means and responsible for the Acustica project. “Quality issues were however a an annoying and recurrent problem, whether relating to speech synthesis, the case, the watchband or battery performance”. That is why the umbrella organisation for visual disability decided to develop its own watch together with various watch industry businesses in Western Switzerland.

This was no easy task: the challenge lay in incorporating all the electronics required – a battery, vibrator, voice synthesis processor and a quartz movement – within a watch case characterised by understated elegance. Acustica is now on the market. This wristwatch can be used intuitively, even without any technical knowledge. The volume and the speed of the talking clock can be adjusted to individual requirements. For voice announcements of the time and date, there is a choice of male and female voices speaking in four different languages (German, French, Italian and English).

Backed by a working group of the SNAB, headed by Stephan Mörker and composed of professionals as well as people directly concerned by the issue, Neuchâtel-based designer Sebastian Muniz developed the entire watch case, described as “extreme in terms of shapes and contrasts”, as well as the logo and packaging.

Touch buttons, dials with large contrasting numerals, the possibility of operating it with just one hand, accurate hours and minutes markings, a crown serving to handle all the indispensable functions, a black leather strap with contrasting white stitching or a metal bracelet… All the criteria have been carefully thought out and discussed within the working group from a long-term perspective. Two buttons are provided on the left of the dial to activate the vibrate mode intended for people who are both visually and hearing impaired. The result is an extremely ergonomic, unisex watch with an intuitive and pleasing design. As the designer explains: “I’m convinced that it’s important for anyone to know they have a good-looking object on their wrist, even if they can no longer see it too well or indeed not at all. It’s the small details that often make all the difference.”

The clean, crisp aesthetic of the Acustica extends to the logo. Sebastian Muniz wanted it to take the form of a dot evoking an eye, symbolising vision or indeed a temporal sonar system. For the blind, visually impaired or those who are both hearing- and visually impaired, orientation with respect to time is of course essential given that spatial orientation has become a source of difficulty. The logo thus reflects this reality.

June 29, 2017