[BlindRUG] Questions Regarding Making Tactile Forms

Tue Jun 9 22:21:40 UTC 2015

Hello,

I use a Tiger embosser for anything I want in a tactile form. I do not like swell paper at all for so many reasons, but the first is that it lacks the definition or sharpness that I need. I don't like the inconsistency that arises from lines or regions that are the same colour and size in print, and I'm not all that happy with the actual texture of the swell paper itself for the things I want in tactile form. The swollen parts are smooth while the original paper is ever so slightly rough which means my attention is caught more by the gaps than the lines. Some of that is obviously personal preference, but I don't think anyone would argue about the low quality of any braille generated on swell paper.

A Tiger EmBraille embosser www.viewplus.com costs around USD2000. I can emboss straight from R onto this embosser, but the outcome is not good enough for a permanent copy. For a copy to share with others, I would prefer to use an embosser that uses higher grade paper, larger paper, and has better definition in terms of dots per inch. I also have  access to a Premiere 100 from ViewPlus that meets these needs.

In terms of creating maps, the work in Ch16 of LURN currently includes some fairly basic experiments. I have started some work using other packages that may prove useful for you. I hope to have these finalised before the coming weekend. One of the packages I have had a brief look at sounds like it will be able to extract street maps from Google, but I haven't tried that yet.

The map databases in the maps package include state and county boundaries for the USA.  I suspect these are not sufficient for your interests. The other packages I need to investigate further include the ggmap package that links to Google. My first foray uses it to find the coordinates for cities I will visit in the coming weeks.

I hope this helps for the moment. There is more coming on this topic and I will try to send an update soon.

Cheers,
Jonathan

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindRUG [mailto:blindrug-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of JooYoung Seo via BlindRUG
Sent: Wednesday, 10 June 2015 6:38 a.m.
To: Blind R Users Group
Cc: JooYoung Seo
Subject: [BlindRUG] Questions Regarding Making Tactile Forms

  Dear Dr. Godfrey,
  Hello, I am JooYoung Seo, studying Learning, Design, and Technology at Penn State.
  I am writing to inquire you about creating tactile graphic forms using R.
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  1. What Is Your strategy for accessing graphic R outputs as in tactile?
  In my lab, I am using Swell Form Heating Machine to enhance the lines. After print out the png file, I xerox the regular paper into swell paper and heat and raise the black line using the device.
  Two problems of this technique are that it is hard to translate the printed text label and values into braille; and when copying the regular flat printout into swell form paper, I see some additional ghost dots or lines that also will be raised along with and bothering me to feel the correct form.
  If you have been using any device or there's any tips to share regarding creating tactile graphic output, please advise me.

  2. How to Create Maps for Pennsylvania?
  I've already studied the Chapter 16 LURN… To create maps; however, I have no idea how to create the map of University Park city, Pennsylvania, USA where I'm currently living.
  I am involved in a project making tactile campus maps for my college, so I am considering using R for this work. Do you think it's possible? Please teach me how I can get the maps of my city.
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  It'd be so much appreciated if you guide me.
  Thank you.
  Sincerely,

       JooYoung

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