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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#467886" vlink="#96607D" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>I like your descriptions of the problems and the features. Some of your line vanishing or interfering problems can be fixed by changing the filters and inverting pins up to pins down. My favorite thing lately has been I got the Black hole pictures when they first came out in 2019 the day they came out and the new ones in 2024 the day they came out and they come up great on the Graphiti if you set the filters and the inversion correctly. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>One thing that needs to be worked on for all the tactile displays is color filters. The filters currently on the Graphiti are brightness filters. I think if we add color filters it will make controlling the pictures amazing. In fact, I had coded a couple python scripts to show this through the USB protocol. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>John, I think I also told you about the Anscombs Quartets I got from MIT when they were doing some research and was able to create code that I could see all four on the Graphiti by reducing the images. It really shows what Anscombs is all about.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>I like writing games for the Graphiti like the Tetris I play. With that said I am now more interested in larger data sets since I just taught a Data Science class. WE didn’t use the Graphiti in it, but we did use swell paper, and I used an embosser to see more detail in a larger area without having to zoom. I think multiple tools are always better than just one. I am still waiting on a few libraries to come out of Alpha that let you view graphs on regular braille displays with a combo of seeing them partially, hearing their sonification, hearing descriptions, and being able to ask questions of AI. I think in the future these libraries will also support these tactile displays. I am hoping the Holy braille folks, and the Kadence folks join the list and talk about the things they are doing. Once these libraries are released I will post some blogs about them and will make sure to let people know about them here. One cool feature about one of the libraries is after you save the image you can pass it around and the person who gets it does not have to have the development chops to view it. It just works in a web browser with what ever tools you have. If you have AI keys you can use it with them or if you have a braille display you can use it or just sonification or speech if that is what you like. I am pretty excited about this one.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>WE need to make sure the companies making these displays try to use the same protocol. So far Orbit is the only one that has a protocol you can request for USV control but maybe they will all get together and support a Open protocol so that you can use software from each device. Even though they all have extreme differences of features and usage.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>I am thinking of writing something like The Canute has to show live sports events for the Graphiti. I thought something like the first courts method of watching American football would be cool on the Graphiti. So far I just have a basic o’s and x’s display of a single offence and defense. I want to now hook it up to a live data feed but some of those data feeds are expensive.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Anyway that is my ramblings for now.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> Tactile-Talk <tactile-talk-bounces@nfbnet.org> <b>On Behalf Of </b>John Miller via Tactile-Talk<br><b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, August 27, 2024 6:39 PM<br><b>To:</b> tactile-talk@nfbnet.org<br><b>Cc:</b> John Miller <johnmillerphd@hotmail.com><br><b>Subject:</b> [Tactile-Talk] My Introduction And Remarks From 2024 Science Division Talk<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>Hello,<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>My name is John Miller and I am the moderator of the tactile-talk list.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>I look forward to hearing from others about how the blind are using tactile graphic displays either professionally or at play.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>I want to thank those who have stepped forward and introduced themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>I am a totally blind electrical engineer. At work I have the opportunity to do data visualization. I use a Graphiti tactile graphic display from Orbit Research to review certain datasets. These days a standard computer monitor has 1920 by 1080 pixels which is many more pixels than any tactile display. Because of the resolution of the tactile display and the small number of pins on a tactile display, we need to be thoughtful in how we examine an image with the display. I would like to hear experiences from sighted colleagues, teachers, and other blind individuals interacting with tactile graphic displays. Did you have an opportunity to interact with a tactile graphic display just for a few minutes perhaps at a blindness convention? Do you have access to a tactile graphic display while taking a high school or college course? What kind of things have you made sense of while using this technology? Quite a sizeable community subscribed to this list in the last couple of days. It is my guess that most of us do not currently have access to a tactile graphic display because of the cost. I greatly benefited from creating my own tactile graphics on paper or what methods came to hand. I am very thankful for the many volunteers who provided me paper tactile graphics in the past. If list members wish to discuss how to make a tactile graphic with Swell Paper, on braille paper, or with 3-D modeling on this list, I think that is a fine idea.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>Here are some remarks about the Graphiti I shared at the 2024 NFB Science and Engineering Division meeting in Orlando, Florida.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>With the help of David Andrews this list Tactile-Talk has been created.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>To subscribe to the list send a message to <a href="mailto:tactile-talk-subscribe@nfbnet.org">tactile-talk-subscribe@nfbnet.org</a> and leave the subject and body blank.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>To post to the list send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:tactile-talk@nfbnet.org">tactile-talk@nfbnet.org</a>. Please invite others who might be interested to join.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>One of the goals of this list is to capture findings and best practices for using a specific tactile graphic display.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>If you are a blind person and have used the Graphiti to help accomplish a particular task please contact me at <a href="mailto:johnmillerphd@hotmail.com">johnmillerphd@hotmail.com</a> and mention what kind of task Graphiti assisted you in. I am equally interested in hearing from an educator of the blind, a parent of a blind K-12 student, or a sighted friend who would like to report the kind of activity you have seen a blind person do with the Graphiti that seems easier or different than using speech output, refreshable braille, or hard copy braille graphics only. My request would equally go out to those who have worked with a Monarch tactile Graphic Display from HumanWare. If you feel comfortable, just post some of your experiences to the list and we can all learn from each other.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>At the 2024 annual Science Division meeting I shared about how to sign up to the Google group blindgraph. One of the pieces of data from this resource is a folder of 41 PDF images and corresponding comma delimited CSV files.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>In an upcoming update I will also make available the corresponding PNG files suitable for interacting with AI applications. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>The files contain plots of sine waves, parabolas, line plots of other algebraic expressions, scatter plots, histograms, block diagrams, blueprints, and other technical figures.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>I invite you to review these images with a Graphiti or other tactile graphic display. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>Also I invite you to review the PNG files using the Picture Smart AI feature in Jaws for Windows.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>With Jaws for Windows make a notation of which version you are using. I recommend the latest which is currently JAWS 2024.06.121.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>How well does each image render for you as a tactile graphic? What additional metadata would help you in reviewing images of this type?<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>I obtained a Graphiti in September 2023 and have summarized some findings from my experiences with it between that time and June 2024. The Graphiti has both a HDMI mode and a USB communications mode. This report describes accessing information with the HDMI mode only. Using the USB mode is a promising capability that requires additional exploration.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>The Graphiti is quiet. It is extremely quiet compared to braille embossers on the market. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>It renders a new image in five seconds. In HDMI mode, the Graphiti constantly updates when something changes on the monitor of my laptop. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>When I am typing up code to form a new plot, I toggle the space bar on the Graphiti to stop what I call "image chatter".<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>This action stops the pins from moving up and down as Graphiti updates an image. Just toggle the space bar on Graphiti again when ready to view a new image that is displaying to your computer monitor.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>I participated in a Microsoft Teams meeting with Venkatesh Chari from Orbit Research and a group of researchers from MathWorks who create the product Matlab. The objective of the meeting was to explore the increase of accessibility of STEM for the blind. Venkatesh traveled to the MathWorks office in Massachusetts while I participated remotely from San Diego. A few days earlier I sent a Matlab script to MathWorks that generated a figure. During the meeting a Mathworks engineer modified the script forming a modified image. Because the engineer was using screen sharing in Microsoft Teams and because I was using the Graphiti, I was able to examine the modified graphic in real-time on the Graphiti. This is just one use case that is very exciting about how the blind can remotely consume graphical data in a new way using tactile graphic displays.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>I have had a positive experience reviewing a folder of PNG files using the Graphiti. The Windows image viewer has an easy to use rotate by 90 degrees feature. It can be helpful to rotate a crowded axis to the horizontal axis for the Graphiti since it has a larger number of pins in the horizontal direction. The Graphiti has 60 pins in the horizontal direction and 40 pins in the vertical direction.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>The Graphiti contains several different filters for how it processes HDMI data. Selecting one of these filters is achieved by pressing the center of the arrow controls. I believe I selected the 4th filter out of 8 to achieve tactile contrast between red and green lines. The Graphiti permits 5 different tactile heights. Using the particular filter described above, the red line appears as a high tactile line while the green line appears as a medium height tactile line. Using this mode I examined a figure containing a red wide parabola and a green narrow parabola displayed on the same image.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>One thing I like about the Graphiti is that your hands can be on the display while it is updating and this does not change the updated image. This can be very helpful for comparing one image to another or for when getting context by zooming in or zooming out of an image. Just as a reminder, the Graphiti has a braille keyboard for issuing graphics commands. I believe zooming out is dot 2 and zooming in is dot 5. I have had good success reviewing a plot of data saved as a PNG file. I have not had so much luck reviewing this plot once it has been pasted into PowerPoint. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>I felt the Graphiti display as a sighted colleague created a smiley face in Paint. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>He added funny ears, a mustache, a beard, and a box-shaped hat. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>As each feature was drawn, I could see the updated image with Graphiti. My colleague brought up at random stock images of a car, a stick figure of a person, and a cartoon drawing of a house. Each time I called out the correct name of the rendered drawing. Looking at stock images was a lot of fun but it also felt like I was building a skill in terms of how to make sense of a drawing without any context. Such a skill might be just the thing we tactile graphics readers could use as we interact with more and more tactile graphics.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>On the other hand, I was not able to identify a detailed image of a modern spacecraft. Detailed and busy images displayed on the Graphiti often do not make sense to me. Some images may not render well because of their contrast. In this case, all the pins might be raised.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>I have used Graphiti regularly to review line plots generated by Matlab from MathWorks. I also find Graphiti works well in displaying the graphical output from the website <a href="http://www.desmos.com">www.desmos.com</a> when displaying the graph of an equation.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>The HDMI mode has some remaining challenges for tactile viewing.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>When a line or object is too close to a desired object, a portion of the desired object can appear erased.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>When viewing plots of a function I find it helpful to disable the horizontal axis. In this case the function is more likely to display in its entirety. I toggle the horizontal axis on and off to collect the information that I need from the plot.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>I observed that a line connecting two boxes in a block diagram can appear erased when the boxes are too close together.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>I generated an image in PowerPoint of two boxes connected by a thick line. The Graphiti displayed the image correctly including displaying the connecting line. As I moved the boxes closer to each other at some point the boxes displayed nicely but the line between them does not display. In addition it takes a little bit of guess and check to learn how thick a line needs to be before it displays nicely. Similarly small dots on a scatter plot may need to be enlarged before they display well.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>There may be some image filtering going on in the HDMI driver itself that impacts how tactile images are displayed. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>Learning more about which images display well and when a region of an image displays poorly on a tactile display can help with choices of how to generate the image for best viewing quality.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>I find the strength of the Graphiti is examining functions like plots and also examining 2-D data.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>I would like to hear about successes and challenges from others.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>Very Best,<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-bottom:8.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black'>John<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></body></html>