HEREFORD Museum and Art Gallery has become the first in the country to invest in exciting new accessible technology developed by the Royal National College for the Blind (RNCB).

The Talking Tactile Tablet (T3) was originally developed for educational purposes but has many possible applications.

The T3 is a screen that lies flat on any surface and is sensitive to touch.

A tactile image is placed on the screen and programmed with information about the image.

The user can then feel the raised, tactile image and as they touch places of interest, the screen will speak to them and talk about the object they have touched.

Lara Latcham, visitor services officer, said: "For example, you could put a plan of the museum on the screen.

"If I then touch a box that represents one of the glass cases, the tablet tells me what it is and what's inside it."