[nfbcs] Braille on the iPad

[John G. Heim]

Yeah, interesting for sure. Normally, you can't type as fast on a braille 
keyboard as on a qwerty keyboard because it takes several fingers to make 
most braille letters. But its possible that that drawback would be lessened 
on a touchpad. In fact, given the difficult nature of the touch keypads, a 
braille keyboard might be more efficient than a qwerty keyboard because 
there are far fewer keys.
If I ever lost my job, I think I'd try starting a company to sell Soekris 
brand computers to blind people. These are little computers about the size 
of an old VHS tape that run linux. I'd attach a USB keyboard and speakers 
and set them up with a screen reader.  Bingo, done!

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tracy Carcione" <carcione at access.net>
To: "NFB in Computer Science Mailing List" <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, October 14, 2011 12:51 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Braille on the iPad


It seems like it's braille input only, which makes sense.
I think I read braille a lot more than I actually write it, so I'd want 
both.
Still, it's interesting.
Tracy

> This is not simply connecting a Braille display or keypad, it is Braille
> directly through the touch screen.  This sounds pretty cool.
>
>
>
> _next article
>
> Tablets turned into Braille keyboard by US researchers
>
> Man reading Braille Braille can seem outdated in a world where
>
> touchscreens are ubiquitous
>
> A team of US researchers has devised a way for people with impaired
>
> vision to use the touchscreen of a tablet such as an iPad as a Braille
>
> keyboard.
>
> It turns some previously fundamental thinking about how to make
>
> technology accessible to blind people on its head.
>
> Instead of using a keyboard or mechanical writer, users type directly
>
> onto the flat glass.
>
> The inventors used a novel design for the keyboard to overcome the lack
>
> of tactile features.
>
> Smart keyboard
>
> "Instead of having fingers that find the buttons, we built buttons that
>
> find the fingers," said Stanford's Sohan Dharmaraja, one of the
>
> researchers on the project.
>
> Mr Dharmaraja using iPad with Braille software The software creates a
>
> smart keyboard for users
>
> Users place eight fingers on the screen and the keyboard appears.
>
> Shaking the device activates a menu, and further interaction is
>
> achieved by regular touch gestures.
>
> Mr Dharmaraja, alongside team-mates Adam Duran - an undergraduate from
>
> New Mexico University - and assistant professor Adrian Lew, came up
>
> with the idea during a boffin's X-Factor-style contest.
>
> The competition, organised each year by Stanford University, challenges
>
> students to come up with some innovative future computing ideas over
>
> their summer break.
>
> In demonstrations Mr Duran typed out a complicated mathematical formula
>
> and the chemical equation for photosynthesis.
>
> But it also offers a solution for more basic problems.
>
> "Imagine being blind in the classroom, how would you take notes? 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," said Prof Lew.
>
> There are some obvious benefits to using touchscreen technology over
>
> traditional Braille writers.
>
> "Current physical note takers are big and clunky and range from $3,000
>
> (£2,000) to $6,000 (£4,000). Tablet PCs are available at a fraction of
>
> the cost and do so much more," said Mr Dharmaraja.
>
> Promising development
>
> As part of the project, the students had to learn Braille. The system,
>
> originally developed for the French military, is made up of six dots
>
> arranged in various patterns. They are read by people's fingertips.
>
> But the system can seem outdated in a modern era where touchscreens are
>
> ubiquitous.
>
> Accessible touch screen devices such as the iPad offer a huge range of
>
> possibilities for developers and for blind and partially sighted
>
> people," said Robin Spinks, the Royal National Institute for Blind
>
> People's manager of digital accessibility.
>
> "This prototype Braille keyboard for touch screen devices represents a
>
> very promising development, and RNIB look forward to being able to test
>
> it with our members in the future," he added.
>
> It may be some while until the Stanford project is turned into a
>
> commercial reality but the team are determined.
>
> "Who knows what we will get because of this device. It is opening a
>
> door that wasn't open before," said Mr Dharmaraja.
>
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