[nabs-l] Fw: Touchscreen Braille Writer

Sun Jan 6 16:59:47 UTC 2013

Gotcha,

Yes, a link would be great.  Or even the name of the App should suffice.

On 1/6/13, Josh Gregory <joshkart12 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 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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-- 
Kaiti