[Blindmath] A few questions and suggestions

Fri Apr 22 14:07:39 UTC 2016

I’m assuming you wanted this message to go to the list as a whole and not just me. The DOT language might help for this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOT_(graph_description_language) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOT_(graph_description_language)>.
Haden Pike
Computer Science
University of Kentucky
Class of 2016

> On Apr 22, 2016, at 9:46 AM, Zach <zm290 at msstate.edu> wrote:
> 
> Hello, 
>  
> I was curious if anyone had experience with software that generates diagrams based off of code? I’m interested in possibly going on to a PhD in rumenant physiology, and I wondered if there was a package where I could create my own pictures by typing code? I know something similar exists for chemistry and just wondered if the technology was there in biology.
>  
>  
> Zac
>  
> Zachary Mason
> M.S. Student
> Animal and Dairy Sciences
> Mississippi State University
>  
> From: Haden Pike [mailto:haden.pike at gmail.com <mailto:haden.pike at gmail.com>] 
> Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2016 7:51 PM
> To: Zach <zm290 at msstate.edu <mailto:zm290 at msstate.edu>>
> Subject: Re: [Blindmath] A few questions and suggestions
>  
> At the moment, the descriptions of each region in the image needs to be edited by hand. What makes this project difficult is creating algorithms to scan the image and automatically generate the description. We found that trying to process the image on the android device itself was either not possible because it was to much for the processor to reliably handle, or it caused an un-acceptable delay. We decided therefore to move the image processing to a separate server, which returns descriptions of the image. We’ve chosen to use a technology from HTML called image maps, which provides most of what we need. There are several existing tools to allow one to create an image map, though all of the information for it must be manually provided. This image map is represented in the application as a graph of objects, which allows us to encode connections between different regions of the image. Another benefit to handling the image processing on a separate server is that when we do expand to other platforms (iOS), we don’t have to re-implement all of the image processing code for those applications. Finally, it’s important to note just how recent this project  is. I started from scratch about a month ago.
>  
> Hope this clarifies things,
> Haden Pike
> Computer Science
> University of Kentucky
> Class of 2016
>  
>  
>  
>> On Apr 21, 2016, at 3:32 PM, Zach <zm290 at msstate.edu <mailto:zm290 at msstate.edu>> wrote:
>>  
>> Is the Android scanning an image of a chart and then running OCR on what it can, and then allowing the blind user to navigate a figure via touch screen? Not quite sure how this works without more detail. 
>>  
>>  
>> Thanks,
>>  
>> Zac
>>  
>> Zachary Mason
>> M.S. Student
>> Animal and Dairy Sciences
>> Mississippi State University
>>  
>> From: Haden Pike [mailto:haden.pike at gmail.com <mailto:haden.pike at gmail.com>] 
>> Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2016 1:48 PM
>> To: Zach <zm290 at msstate.edu <mailto:zm290 at msstate.edu>>
>> Subject: Re: [Blindmath] A few questions and suggestions
>>  
>> The application currently runs on Android devices. A description of how to use the app is below. Please feel free to write me off list to discuss this project more. I can also give demonstrations over Skype.
>>  
>> ===Description of App===
>>  
>> To start, press Open in the lower left hand side of the screen to select your files. To hear the descriptions, slide your finger across the screen. When your finger touches an area of the image that can be described, the description will be read aloud. When your finger is not touching an area of the image, you are notified via text to speech. While you are moving around the screen, you will hear a tone indicating where you are in the image. The higher the pitch, the higher up you are in the image. There are four buttons located at the bottom of the screen. From left to right they are Open, Pan, Settings and Help.
>> ===End===
>>  
>> Haden Pike
>> Computer Science
>> University of Kentucky
>> Class of 2016
>>  
>>  
>>  
>>> On Apr 21, 2016, at 10:06 AM, Zach <zm290 at msstate.edu <mailto:zm290 at msstate.edu>> wrote:
>>>  
>>> Hello Haden, 
>>> 
>>> I would be interested to learn more about your undergraduate research project. As a graduate student in the life sciences, I'm interested to learn about options available for more indipendant interpretation of diagrams. If there are abstracts or summaries of your work I could read over, or if you would be willing to talk to a non-computer-science student in greater detail about your work, I would be very interested.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Thank you, 
>>> 
>>> Zac
>>> 
>>> Zachary Mason
>>> M.S. Student
>>> Animal and Dairy Sciences
>>> Mississippi State University
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Blindmath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org <mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org>] On Behalf Of Haden Pike via Blindmath
>>> Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2016 9:07 PM
>>> To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics <blindmath at nfbnet.org <mailto:blindmath at nfbnet.org>>
>>> Cc: Haden Pike <haden.pike at gmail.com <mailto:haden.pike at gmail.com>>
>>> Subject: Re: [Blindmath] A few questions and suggestions
>>> 
>>> You are in the same situation I am, in regards to losing the feeling in your finger tips. I’m currently an undergraduate senior in Computer Science, doing research and development of apps for mobile devices which can translate scientific diagrams (graphs, block diagrams, free-body diagrams, etc) into an audio form while still allowing the user to form a mental representation of how the entities in the image relate to each other.
>>> 
>>> In regards to your specific questions however, I learned LaTex my Freshman year of college, because we were trying to find a way for me to read Math assignments. My high school teachers never suggested LaTeX, so I assume they didn’t know it. Having said that, the ability to read and write LaTeX will serve you well in the future, so don’t stop learning it.
>>> 
>>> Also, another thing that helped me was learning a programming language like C, and then using that knowledge to implement mathematical formulas. In the case where you just don’t know the formula, Google for an implementation in C and then study it. Programming language source code is all just plain text and imperative languages like C have a very sequential style. As a side benefit, you may also gain a knowledge of algorithms, which can only help you.
>>> 
>>> Finally, don’t be afraid to find a sighted reader. I’ve worked with some absolutely incredible people, who have helped me with some of the most difficult math I’ve attempted. I understand wanting to do these things by yourself (it’s part of the reason I do the research I do), but there are times when you just have to accept help.
>>> 
>>> Anyway, this is worked for me. Others may have different suggestions. Whatever the case, good luck.
>>> 
>>> Haden Pike
>>> Computer Science
>>> University of Kentucky
>>> Class of 2016
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> On Apr 20, 2016, at 4:36 PM, Taylor Arndt via Blindmath <blindmath at nfbnet.org <mailto:blindmath at nfbnet.org>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Hi all,
>>>> 
>>>> I am Taylor Arndt. High school student. I am currently taking a math class, but just recently lost my feeling in my fingers. About a year ago. My question is is I used to do braille math, but because I don't really have feeling in my fingers anymore how can I do the equivalent on a laptop? Things I have tried:
>>>> I have tried getting the assignments from the teacher and because 
>>>> they're all on paper having to scan them This solution is not great, because I've had many instances where problems are getting chopped off or they are the wrong problems.
>>>> I have tried also getting the equations from the teacher ahead of time and then having to type them, but this  Takes up valuable class Time .
>>>> Finally, I am trying in the  infty reader. 
>>>> Is anybody use this program?
>>>> Do you like it?
>>>> What format do you output the file into?
>>>> If you use latex how do you distribute  to your it teacher or professor? 
>>>> Also, I'm going to mention my career goal. My goal is to someday become a computer science major, and I realize this requires a lot of math, so I am trying to figure this out at a young age.
>>>> Thank you
>>>> 
>>>> Taylor Arndt
>>>> 
>>>> Sent from my iPhone
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>>> 
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