have a look at: http://www.codefactory.es download and read their manual for mobile speak pocket.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Greg Kearney" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Iain Murray" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Andrew Furlong" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: "General discussions on all topics relating to the use of Mac OS X by theblind" <[email protected]>; "macvoiceover" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 11:13 AM Subject: Braille input for touch devices Let me try this idea for accessible touch systems on you. How to make the touch screens accessible is a big issue with no clear solution. As more devices adopt this interface something will have to be done however. Here is one approach to the issue: Braille input for touch screen devices Braille is the international standard for reading, and in this case, writing employed by the blind. Braille offers a possible method of interacting with and controlling touch screen devices such as the iPod Touch and the iPhone. Braille is a corded entry system made up of six positions of the fingers. Touch screens could be programed to detect the various combinations of finger presses and their relationship to each other and then act accordingly. This combined with text to speech output would permit the blind user to control a touch screen device. When in "braille input mode" the user would enter in grade one braille commands to which the devices would respond with speech. For example consider the task of choosing music to play. The use would enter the word "play" in braille on the screen followed by taping the "space bar" in this case the double press of two thumbs at the bottom of the screen to activate the command. The system would respond by announcing the first song of the cover flow selections. The user would then do a "N" and a double tap of the space bar to move forward and a "B" to move backwards through the list. When the use found the song he wanted a double tap of the space bar would activate the choice. The use could limit the listing by providing the play command a name for example "play haydn" would limit the search to music by Haydn. Similar interfaces could be done for phone calls in the iPhone. A user could issue a command "call bob" the unit would respond with a list of users with bob in the name the user would then use the "N" and "B' commands to move through the lists until he finds the one he wants to call and then issue a double tap of the space bar to place the call or a "info" command to read the information about that person. By using grade one braille we can avoid the issue of expanding contraction and make the system easy to use even for blind users who might not otherwise be braille users. Braille would permit the blind user to enter information into the phone. An added benefit is that braille entry would permit even sighted users to type quickly into a touch device much as if they had a keyboard attached to the device. With the addition of Braille Apple would be offering the least expensive and most capable braille device ont eh market today when you consider that similar devices for the blind have costs well in excess of $1000. In addition it would offer a fast data input method for the sighted as well. Well that is all for now. Greg Kearney Curtin University Centre for Accessible Technology www.cucat.org
