[nabs-l] Fw: Touchscreen Braille Writer

Sun Jan 6 16:53:34 UTC 2013

Would you mind sending the link? That way others, including myself can get a feel for what it is like

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 6, 2013, at 11:48 AM, christopher nusbaum <dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com> wrote:

> The beta version is on the app store now, but it is only a trial
> version. They haven't come out with the full release yet, as they are
> still Fixing bugs before they release the full version to the public.
> 
> Chris Nusbaum
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> On Jan 6, 2013, at 11:38 AM, Kaiti Shelton <crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Hi,
>> 
>> Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it's on the App Store
>> market yet.  If it is though I'd love to test it out.
>> 
>> I do agree with some things that were said, that the Braille OCR
>> project should be picked back up and that the reasons for stopping it
>> were bogus, but I'm excited to see what this App is.  I love how small
>> my BrailleSense On-Hand is, but if I, or any college student for that
>> matter, could just pack an IPad along with a braille display and have
>> the capability to go back and forth between writing in print and
>> braille that would be amazing.  Although it wouldn't fully eliminate
>> notetakers and laptops from the equasion, it would certainly make bags
>> a little lighter and have sort of a 2-in-1 feel.
>> 
>> On 1/5/13, Brandon Keith Biggs <brandonkeithbiggs at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> What really would be useful is if I could type contracted Braille on my
>>> texts and have it come out in English.
>>> t way I wd n h (lowF)type (ou) e (th)(ing)
>>> ;d
>>> Thanks,
>>> 
>>> Brandon Keith Biggs
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Chris Nusbaum
>>> Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2013 7:57 PM
>>> To: 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'
>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Fw: Touchscreen Braille Writer
>>> 
>>> Dave,
>>> 
>>> My question is how more than one dot, such as dots 1-4 for a c,
>>> would be typed using this app on a touch screen. It is an interesting idea
>>> indeed, and I am interested in playing with it on my iPhone. I wonder
>>> whether typing in Braille on a touch screen will increase my typing speed
>>> once I get used to doing it? Very interesting! By the way, have any of you
>>> actually played with this app? If so, what are your thoughts after using
>>> it?
>>> 
>>> Chris
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of David Andrews
>>> Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2013 10:41 PM
>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Fw: Touchscreen Braille Writer
>>> 
>>> It seems to me that you folks are getting all worked up over nothing.  As I
>>> understand it, the software is for input only, and would run on a tablet
>>> like the iPad with access through voiceover.  Some people prefer Braille
>>> input, some qwerty, some fleksy or another system.
>>> 
>>> Dave
>>> 
>>> At 10:29 PM 1/3/2013, you wrote:
>>>> Maybe, I just want to know whether the software they created would run
>>>> on a device that has accessible output of some sort, like VoiceOver.
>>>> If not, then the Braille touchscreen is pretty much useless.
>>>> Personally, as a Braille reader and longtime Braille Note and Braille
>>>> Lite user, I feel like typing in Braille without the Braille output
>>>> would be awkward and not very helpful. But maybe others disagree with
>>>> me?
>>>> In any case I think their first idea of the Braille character
>>>> recognizer has much greater utility, and their reasons for abandoning
>>>> it are without much basis.
>>>> Arielle
>>>> 
>>>> On 1/3/13, Kirt <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> Hello everyone,
>>>>> I'm sorry for the double post. But I feel like I need to clarify.
>>> Already,
>>>>> this idea is being modified in apps where we can use of virtual braille
>>>>> writer on the touch screen of an iPhone or an
>>>> iPad. I see a decent amount of
>>>>> value and that, I think.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>> 
>>>>> On Jan 3, 2013, at 9:06 PM, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>>> Oh how I wish these smart, creative guys had talked with blind people
>>>>>> before inventing this thing! Unless I missed something, does this
>>>>>> tablet have speech or Braille output? How is the blind user supposed
>>>>>> to be able to read his/her notes? I'm not sure if any current tablets
>>>>>> are accessible. Even if one is, I don't think the ability to write in
>>>>>> Braille rather than in QWERTY matters that much. The appeal of the
>>>>>> overpriced Braille notetaker is the Braille output, not the Braille
>>>>>> keyboard! Oh....Wow! That's all I can say.
>>>>>> If I were these guys I would go ahead with the Braille character
>>>>>> recognizer. That actually has some utility. It would allow a blind
>>>>>> schoolchild to convert his Brailled homework to print that his teacher
>>>>>> could read, or a blind college student to Braille math equations, scan
>>>>>> them and send them to her professor. If these Stanford students had
>>>>>> actually talked with blind people, they would have learned that blind
>>>>>> people successfully use apps that involve taking pictures of print.
>>>>>> Taking pictures of Braille would be easier, not harder, than what
>>>>>> already exists.
>>>>>> It continually blows my mind how many people make it a personal
>>>>>> passion to work on improving the lives of blind people in one way or
>>>>>> another, without really educating themselves on what is already out
>>>>>> there or what real live blind folks actually need.
>>>>>> Arielle
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> On 1/3/13, Brandon Keith Biggs <brandonkeithbiggs at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>> Hello,
>>>>>>> Below is an article I was sent about a new app. I am not a fan of the
>>> way
>>>>>>> the creator views blind people, but I do think having a Braille
>>>>>>> Writer
>>> on
>>>>>>> the tablet would be very nice. It is so much faster to type texts in
>>>>>>> Braille
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> than in print LOL...
>>>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Brandon Keith Biggs
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> STANFORD SUMMER COURSE YIELDS TOUCHSCREEN BRAILLE WRITER
>>>>>>> Home<http://engineering.stanford.edu/> >
>>>>>>> About<http://engineering.stanford.edu/about> > News &
>>>>>>> Updates<http://engineering.stanford.edu/about/news> > Stanford summer
>>>>>>> course
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> yields touchscreen Braille writer
>>>>>>> <http://engineering.stanford.edu/print/node/148>
>>>>>>> In a two-month summer course on high-performance computing, promising
>>>>>>> undergrads compete to create innovative applications. This summer's
>>>>>>> winner
>>>>>>> developed a touchscreen Braille writer that stands to revolutionize
>>> how
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> blind negotiate an unseen world by replacing devices costing up to 10
>>>>>>> times
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> more.
>>>>>>> Andrew Myers
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Each summer, under the red-tiled roofs and sandstone of Stanford, the
>>>>>>> Army
>>>>>>> High-Performance Computing Research Center (AHPCRC) invites a select
>>>>>>> group
>>>>>>> of undergraduates from across the country gather for a two-month
>>>>>>> immersion
>>>>>>> into the wonders of advanced computing.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Some of the undergraduates are gathered into teams. Some work alone.
>>> All
>>>>>>> are
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> assigned mentors and tasked with a challenge. They compete, American
>>>>>>> Idol-style, for top honors at the end of the summer.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> The competition is made possible in part by a collaboration between
>>> the
>>>>>>> U.S.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Army and several university and industry partners that makes up the
>>>>>>> AHPCRC.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Adam Duran is one such undergraduate, a student both lucky and good.
>>> He
>>>>>>> is
>>>>>>> now in his senior year at New Mexico State University. Last June, he
>>> came
>>>>>>> to
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Stanford at the suggestion of one of his professors. His mentors were
>>>>>>> Adrian
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Lew, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, and Sohan
>>>>>>> Dharmaraja,
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> a doctoral candidate at Stanford studying computational mathematics.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> "Originally, our assignment was to create a character-recognition
>>>>>>> application that would use the camera on a mobile device - a phone or
>>>>>>> tablet - to transform pages of Braille into readable text," said
>>> Duran.
>>>>>>> "It
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> was a cool challenge, but not exactly where we ended up."
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> BIGGER FISH
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Even before Duran arrived for the summer, Lew and Dharmaraja began to
>>>>>>> talk
>>>>>>> to the Stanford Office of Accessible
>>>>>>> Education<http://studentaffairs.stanford.edu/oae>, people whose
>>>>>>> profession
>>>>>>> is helping blind and visually impaired students negotiate the world
>>>>>>> of
>>>>>>> higher learning. It became clear that there were bigger fish to fry.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> While a Braille character reader would be helpful to the blind, Lew
>>> and
>>>>>>> Dharmaraja learned, there were logistics that were hard to get
>>>>>>> around.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> "How does a blind person orient a printed page so that the computer
>>> knows
>>>>>>> which side is up? How does a blind person ensure proper lighting of
>>> the
>>>>>>> paper?" said Duran. "Plus, the technology, while definitely helpful,
>>>>>>> would
>>>>>>> be limited in day-to-day application."
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> "It was a nice-to-have, not a must-have," said Dharmaraja.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> So, the three began to ask questions. That is when they stumbled upon
>>> a
>>>>>>> sweet spot.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> "The killer app was not a reader, but a writer," said Dharmaraja.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> "Imagine being blind in a classroom, how would you take notes?" said
>>> Lew.
>>>>>>> "What if you were on the street and needed to copy down a phone
>>> number?
>>>>>>> These are real challenges the blind grapple with every day."
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> There are devices that help the blind write Braille, to send email
>>>>>>> and
>>> so
>>>>>>> forth, but they are essentially specialized laptops that cost, in
>>>>>>> some
>>>>>>> cases, $6,000 or more. All for a device of limited functionality,
>>> beyond
>>>>>>> typing Braille, of course.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> "Your standard tablet has more capability at a tenth the price," said
>>>>>>> Duran.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> "So, we put two and two together. We developed a tablet Braille
>>> writer,"
>>>>>>> said Dharmaraja, "A touchscreen for people who can't see."
>>> [http://engineering.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/imagecache/700wide/news
>>> %20-%202012%200505%20-%20touchscreen%20braile%20writer.jpeg]Sohan
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Dharmaraja, a doctoral candidate at Stanford, demonstrates how the
>>>>>>> software
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> works.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> First, however, the student-mentor team had to learn Braille.
>>> Originally
>>>>>>> developed for the French military, Braille is a relatively simple
>>>>>>> code
>>>>>>> with
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> each character made up of variations of six dots - or bumps, really -
>>>>>>> arranged in a 2-by-3 matrix. The blind read by feeling the bumps with
>>>>>>> their
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> fingertips.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> As any computational mathematician will tell you, such a matrix
>>>>>>> yields
>>>>>>> two-to-the-sixth minus one variations, or 63 possible characters.
>>> These
>>>>>>> 63
>>>>>>> characters are enough for a Western alphabet plus 10 numerical
>>>>>>> digits,
>>>>>>> with
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> several left over for punctuation and some special characters.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Over the years, however, those 63 characters got quickly gobbled up -
>>>>>>> through the addition of character-modification keystrokes, the total
>>> grew
>>>>>>> and now includes chemical, mathematical and other symbols.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> CHALLENGE
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> A modern Braille writer looks like a laptop with no monitor and an
>>>>>>> eight-key
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> keyboard - six to create the character, plus a carriage return and a
>>>>>>> delete
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> key.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Duplicating the Braille keypad on a touch-based tablet seemed simple
>>>>>>> enough,
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> but there was at least one significant challenge: How does a blind
>>> person
>>>>>>> find the keys on a flat, uniformly smooth glass panel?
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Dharmaraja and Duran mulled their options before arriving at a clever
>>> and
>>>>>>> simple solution. They did not create virtual keys that the fingertips
>>>>>>> must
>>>>>>> find; they made keys that find the fingertips. The user simply
>>>>>>> touches
>>>>>>> eight
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> fingertips to the glass, and the keys orient themselves to the
>>> fingers.
>>>>>>> If
>>>>>>> the user becomes disoriented, a reset is as easy as lifting all eight
>>>>>>> fingers off the glass and putting them down again.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> "Elegant, no?" said Lew. "The solution is so simple, so beautiful. It
>>> was
>>>>>>> fun to see."
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Beyond the price difference, touchscreens offer at least one other
>>>>>>> significant advantage over standard Braille writers: "They're
>>>>>>> customizable,"
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Dharmaraja noted. "They can accommodate users whose fingers are small
>>> or
>>>>>>> large, those who type with fingers close together or far apart, even
>>> to
>>>>>>> allow a user to type on a tablet hanging around the neck with hands
>>>>>>> opposed
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> as if playing a clarinet."
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> "No standard Braille writer can do this," said Professor Charbel
>>> Farhat,
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> chair of the Aeronautics and Astronautics Department and executive
>>>>>>> director
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> of the summer program. "This is a real step forward for the blind."
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> SHOWING OFF
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> In a demo, Duran donned a blindfold and readied himself before the
>>>>>>> touchscreen. He typed out an email address and a simple subject line.
>>>>>>> Then
>>>>>>> he typed one of the best-known mathematical formulas in the world,
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> Burgers Equation<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgers%27_equation>,
>>> and
>>>>>>> followed with the chemical equation for
>>>>>>> photosynthesis<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthesis> - complex
>>>>>>> stuff - all as if writing a note to his mother.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> For Duran, who has an uncle who is blind, the greatest joy was in
>>> seeing
>>>>>>> a
>>>>>>> blind person using his creation for the first time. "That was so
>>>>>>> awesome,"
>>>>>>> he said. "I can't describe the feeling. It was the best."
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> In the immediate future, there are technical and legal hurdles to
>>>>>>> address,
>>>>>>> but someday, perhaps soon, the blind and visually impaired may find
>>>>>>> themselves with a more cost-effective Braille writer that is both
>>>>>>> portable
>>>>>>> and blessed with greater functionality than any device that went
>>> before.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> "AHPCRC is an excellent model for outreach, which not only trains
>>>>>>> undergraduate students in computational sciences but also exposes
>>>>>>> students
>>>>>>> to real-world research applications," said Raju Namburu, the
>>> cooperative
>>>>>>> agreement manager for AHPCRC.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> The center addresses the Army's most difficult scientific and
>>> engineering
>>>>>>> challenges using high-performance computing. Stanford University is
>>> the
>>>>>>> AHPCRC lead organization with oversight from the Army Research
>>>>>>> Laboratory.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> As for his summer courses, Farhat is optimistic. "Let's remember," he
>>>>>>> points
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> out, "This was a two-month summer project that evolved because a few
>>>>>>> smart
>>>>>>> people asked some good questions. I'm always amazed by what the
>>> students
>>>>>>> accomplish in these courses, but this was something special. Each
>>>>>>> year
>>> it
>>>>>>> seems to get better and more impressive."
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Andrew Myers is associate director of communications for the Stanford
>>>>>>> School
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> of Engineering.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Video
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Watch: Stanford Course Yields Touchscreen Braille
>>>>>>> Writer<https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10100361023253469>
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Thursday, October 6, 2011
>>> 
>>> 
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>> 
>> 
>> --
>> Kaiti
>> 
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