[Blindmath] Version 0.0.19 of SVGDraw01 with AudioTac is now available for download

[Richard Baldwin]

Although the name of the program is SVGDraw01, this is not a posting about
SVG. Instead, this is a posting about making it possible for blind people
to communicate with the rest of the world through the use of the
mathematical concepts embodied in the Cartesian Coordinate System.

Version 0.0.19 of my drawing program for blind users is now posted at:
http://www.austincc.edu/baldwin/SWT-SVG/SVGDraw01.zip and is available for
immediate downloading.

The new material in this version consists primarily of the addition of new
features that make the AudioTac Display more accessible and more useful.

The name AudioTac is a combination of the words audio and tactile. The
improved AudioTac feature makes it possible for blind users to interpret
drawings using sound and screen-reader-speech in conjunction with an
embossed tactile grid system mounted on a touchpad.  (A standard mouse can
also be used, but a touchpad, which allows more direct contact between the
nerves in the finger and the tactile grid, is probably more effective.)

More specifically, AudioTac makes it possible for blind users to trace out
the shapes in a drawing by moving a finger on a tactile grid system while a
screen reader speaks information about the shapes (when requested) and a
tone generator emits stereo sounds that are unique to each shape. The new
screen-reader-speech output can be particularly useful in identifying a
particular shape (among several shapes) that you want to trace.

The new feature involving screen-reader-speech is somewhat experimental and
feedback on this new feature will be appreciated. For reasons that are
too complicated to discuss here, it was necessary for me to implement this
feature using Java Swing instead of Java SWT, which is used through the
rest of the program. Although Java Swing is known to have some
accessibility issues, the new feature works well with NVDA. I would like to
hear whether it does, or does not work with other screen readers.

AudioTac is not a replacement for an embosser. Instead, AudioTac provides
blind users with a "quick look" at the drawing during the drawing process
and prior to embossing the finished drawing. This can be particularly
important when an embossing process is being used that requires expensive
media, such as special paper.

I won't suggest that it is easy to use AudioTac to follow the boundary of a
shape with your finger, or to form a mental image of the geometry of the
shape by following that boundary. However, once you learn to do that, the
results can be very rewarding. The combination of the drawing features of
the program and the ability to interpret drawings through a combination
of sound, screen-reader-speech, and touch will make it possible for you to
economically communicate with the rest of the world using the mathematical
concepts embodied by the Cartesian Coordinate System.


First, however, you need to download the zip file using the link that is
provided above.

Next, you need to extract all of the material from the zip file into an
empty folder being careful to preserve the directory tree structure. Don't
extract into the root
directory. One user has reported problems accessing the Help file when the
contents of the zip file were extracted into the root folder.

Execute the file named RunSVGDraw01.bat to run the program. You may get a
warning that the program came from an unidentified source. Only you can
decide whether to ignore the warning and run the program, or to cancel out.

It is not necessary for you to have Java or any other special software
installed on your computer to run this program. You should even be able to
extract the contents of the zip file onto a USB flash drive and run the
program on any Windows system, Version XP or later, with 32-bit or 64-bit
hardware. Of course, you don't have to use a USB flash drive, I mention
that simply to emphasize the flexibility that you have with the program.

When the program starts, you will land on Home Base from which you can
press F1 to open the help file, or select any of the actions provided by
the menus. Instructions for opening the menus are printed on Home Base.
Alternatively, you can simply open the file named
SvgDraw01.Instructions.htm in your browser and read the instructions
without running the program. A copy of the instruction file is attached to
this message.

baldwin at dickbaldwin.com

-- 
Richard G. Baldwin (Dick Baldwin)
Home of Baldwin's on-line Java Tutorials
http://www.DickBaldwin.com

Professor of Computer Information Technology
Austin Community College
(512) 223-4758
mailto:Baldwin at DickBaldwin.com
http://www.austincc.edu/baldwin/
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