[Nfb-science] scoring braille input devices

[David Andrews]

John:

You probably know this -- but your list of displays does not include 
all the ones with Braille keyboards.  There is also the Braille 
Connect, and the Braillino, and I think the new ones from Perkins 
Products will have a keyboard, as will the upcoming Braille Edge from Hims.

Dave

At 02:12 PM 3/12/2012, John Miller wrote:




>Hello,
>I was talking with Hai describing the wide variety of ease of data 
>entry using a keyboard that is built in to a refreshable Braille display.
>It would be very useful to create a webpage that allowed users to 
>specify the Braille input method i.e. Braille note, Brailliant 
>Braille display from Humanware, focus 40 blue from Freedom Scientific.
>The webpage would prompt the user to type in ASCII text a single 
>sentence 10 times, data processing would then score the typing speed 
>and accuracy of the user.
>I find that I can type ASCII text quickly and accurately using the 
>Braille note PK.
>I find that my typing accuracy is much lower using the Focus 40 Blue.
>For me, the ASCII typing accuracy is pretty good with the Brailliant display.
>My concern is that the braille display manufacturers have not asked 
>us in the past to be a part of their focus group when making a new 
>Braille display.
>Perhaps size and cost are the key factors for them rather than 
>including ergonomics, typing speed, and typing accuracy.
>I would like to make the results of this data collection viewable to 
>those who log in to the webpage.
>If the data shows that some Braille displays have better accuracies 
>than others in general, then this result would be quite helpful to 
>share with consumers.
>It is my hope that if we collect such data that we make it available 
>to a large audience that the Braille display manufacturers will 
>begin to include this criteria in their future designs.
>The user would type a sentence such as: The quick brown fox jumped 
>over the lazy dog.
>For a small digression, this what Wikipedia has to say about this sentence:
>it is a "phrase that contains all of the letters of the English 
>alphabet. It has been used to test typewriters and computer keyboards,
>and in other applications involving all of the letters in the 
>English alphabet."The user would type the sentence 10 times in a 
>form and the web page would record the time the form was kept open.
>If you have the PHP or other web page skills to create such a web 
>page, please let me know.
>If noone on the committee has the skills or interest to create the 
>web page, it is something that could be done as part of a 
>engineering senior project.
>I welcome any comments on this project.Some data that would be 
>useful to collect about the user is as follows:
>1. Name of Braille input device:
>Brailliant 40
>Focus 40 Blue
>Braille Note
>Allow specify other and enter device name.
>2. How long since you learned Braille?
>less than 1 year
>1 to 3 years
>more than 3 years
>3. How long have you spent using the braille input device?
>less than 1 month
>1 to 6 months
>more than 6 months
>4. How do you rate the accuracy of entering text with Braille?
>5 very good
>4 good
>3 satisfactory
>2 poor
>1 very poor
>5. How do you rate the speed of entering text with Braille?
>5 very good
>4 good
>3 satisfactory
>2 poor
>1 very poor
>6. How do you rate the feel of the Braille keyboard?
>5 very good
>4 good
>3 satisfactory
>2 poor
>1 very poor
>7. How do you rate the location of the Braille keys?
>5 very good
>4 good
>3 satisfactory
>2 poor
>1 very poor
>8. How do you rate the location of the braille space bar?
>5 very good
>4 good
>3 satisfactory
>2 poor
>1 very poor
>9. How do you rate the usefulness of the control keys?
>5 very good
>4 good
>3 satisfactory
>2 poor
>1 very poor
>10. How do you rate the ergonomics of the Braille input device?Best regards,
>John
>5 very good
>4 good
>3 satisfactory
>2 poor
>1 very poor