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

Sat Nov 12 23:02:32 UTC 2011

This is a link to a 3d controller we have in the office.  It explains how it
works.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2007/03/07/gdc-2007-novint-falcon-haptic-feedbac
k-pc-controller

-----Original Message-----
From: blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Richard Baldwin
Sent: Friday, November 11, 2011 2:46 PM
To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
Subject: Re: [Blindmath] Version 0.0.19 of SVGDraw01 with AudioTac is now
available for download

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/
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