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

Fri Nov 11 19:45:40 UTC 2011

Hi Ken,

I don't know what you mean by 3D controller, but I am interested.

Tell me more.

Dick Baldwin

On Fri, Nov 11, 2011 at 1:31 PM, Ken Perry <kperry at blinksoft.com> wrote:

>
> Have you thought of making this work with the 3d controllers?  I know a few
> research projects are using them to look at maps.
>
> ken
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On
> Behalf Of Richard Baldwin
> Sent: Friday, November 11, 2011 12:51 PM
> To: BlindMath Mailing List; accessibleimage at freelists.org
> Subject: [Blindmath] Version 0.0.19 of SVGDraw01 with AudioTac is now
> available for download
>
> 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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-- 
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/