[Blindmath] Future Engineering Student

Mon Jan 4 17:30:55 UTC 2010

Hi Christine and all,

Yes, the vOICe is a great sonification tool. 
Here is the direct download link in case you can’t find it.
http://www.seeingwithsound.com/voice.exe

I would encourage you to explore the site as it provides a wealth of information not only about the vOICe, but the concept of utilizing auditory displays in general.

It can be used to plot functions over a defined range of X and Y and the resulting graph can then be sonified. The vOICe works with Mathematical packages like Mathematica, Octave, and I’m also interested in the possibility of using the vOICe in the R environment.
The site offers many tips on using it with different Mathematical software.

It can also identify colored parts of the figure for you. So if you are looking for say a red colored bar in a bar chart, you can use the color filter option (I haven’t fully explored this).

Dr. Peter Meijer, the developer of the vOICe, is extremely helpful. I have troubled him on several occasions on research topics that are not even related to the vOICe, and he has always responded.

Regards

"Markets are constantly in a state of uncertainty and flux and money is make by discounting the obvious and betting on the unexpected."
~ George Soros

--- On Mon, 1/4/10, Lloyd Rasmussen <lras at loc.gov> wrote:

> From: Lloyd Rasmussen <lras at loc.gov>
> Subject: Re: [Blindmath] Future Engineering Student
> To: "Christine Szostak" <szostak.1 at osu.edu>, "Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics" <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
> Date: Monday, January 4, 2010, 9:51 PM
> Hi.  I started my electrical
> engineering coursework at Iowa State 
> University 44 years ago.  The tools have changed a
> lot!
> 
> I would encourage you to check out the vOICe, because it
> may be useful in 
> some situations.  It can sonify practically anything
> you can put onto a 
> Windows PC, as long as the images are stationary or change
> slowly.  This 
> includes a function for sonifying the active window or the
> area around your 
> mouse pointer.  Do some of your ear training with a
> webcam, since you can 
> quickly present various images to it.  Stereo
> headphones are a must, also, 
> because the left-right panning can help you determine where
> various sounds 
> occur on the image.  The vOICe software is a tiny
> executable (as Windows 
> programs go) and has controls for adjusting zoom, contrast,
> scan rate, and 
> even the number of frequencies into which the vertical
> dimension of the 
> soundscape is mapped.  Dr. Meiger, who wrote this
> software starting nearly 
> 20 years ago, is quite expert in psychoacoustics.  He
> has examples showing 
> how images can be sonified, then converted back to images
> in a spectrogram 
> fashion, with some loss of fidelity.
> 
> Having said all this, I don't use this software on a daily
> basis.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> At 10:42 AM 1/2/2010, you wrote:
> >Hi,
> >  I was wondering if you could provide more
> information about #6 the 
> > vOICe. I have never heard of this product and given
> that I frequently 
> > work with spectrograms, I was curious if it will allow
> me to view them 
> > independently.
> >Many thanks,
> >Christine
> >
> >Christine M. Szostak
> >Graduate Student
> >Language Perception Laboratory
> >Department of Psychology, Cognitive Area
> >The Ohio State University
> >Columbus, Ohio
> >szostak.1 at osu.edu
> >http://lpl.psy.ohio-state.edu
> >----- Original Message ----- From: "Matthew Cooper"
> <matdawg17 at gmail.com>
> >To: "Blind Math list for those interested in
> mathematics" 
> ><blindmath at nfbnet.org>
> >Sent: Saturday, January 02, 2010 8:18 AM
> >Subject: Re: [Blindmath] Future Engineering Student
> >
> >
> >>Thanks!  Another software I have heard of is
> Matlab, which sounds
> >>similar to Mathematica.  Is one more
> accessible than the other and do
> >>they do similar things?  Thanks!
> >>
> >>On 1/2/10, Pranav Lal <pranav.lal at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >>>Hi Matthew,
> >>>
> >>>1. Mathtype
> >>>This is a program that lets you enter equations
> into Microsoft Word. It
> >>>replaces Word's equation editor. I believe it
> is accessible.
> >>>
> >>>2. Math player
> >>>This is made by the same company as math type.
> It interfaces with screen
> >>>readers to provide access to MathML.
> >>>
> >>>3. Mathematica
> >>>This is a program to do math and solve
> equations.
> >>>
> >>>4. An audio graphing calculator
> >>>|This is a program that allows you to enter
> functions and then solve. Graphs
> >>>can be plotted and can be perceived using
> audio.
> >>>
> >>>5. iFeel pixel software and Novint Falcon
> haptic device).
> >>>This is a tactile force feedback device. It may
> allow you to see graphs and
> >>>pictures but I do not know how well it works.
> >>>
> >>>6. To add to your list, the vOICe
> >>>This is a visual prosthesis and can be used to
> perceive complex images.
> >>>
> >>>Pranav
> 
> Lloyd Rasmussen, Senior Project Engineer, Engineering
> Section
> National Library Service for the Blind and Physically
> Handicapped
> Library of Congress    (202)
> 707-0535   <http://www.loc.gov/nls>
> HOME:  <http://lras.home.sprynet.com>
> The opinions expressed here are my own and do not
> necessarily represent 
> those of NLS.
> 
> 
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