Re: [Wikimediaindia-l] Braille/touchscreen integration
Gerard, Vickram, From my experience I know that Braille is a physically read language. It is read by feeling the raised dots on a surface. Eg: On elevator buttons, a series of dots on each button. I fail to understand how a touch screen display can work here. Regards, Srikanth On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 9:17 AM, Vickram Crishna vvcris...@radiophony.comwrote: On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 12:11 AM, Gerard Meijssen gerard.meijs...@gmail.com wrote: Hoi, I do not know exactly how Braille works but if a character in a standard script can be represented by Braille characters in stead, then all it seems to need is a method for us to replace the existing Unicode character with the Braille Unicode character. As we already have WebFonts functionality it seems to me that what is needed is a conversion before the characters are send to the user. When this is done, we can show you the Braille characters on your screen. What works for persons with visual challenges, who have been trained to use Braille typing, is the sequence of simultaneous keypresses that translate into language characters (there are Braille variants for non-Roman scripts). Since the visually challenged person cannot see the screen in any case, the display is not the point. This particular solution allows the touchscreen to accept multiple fingertip contact as individual characters, and of course, for the screen to switch smoothly between screen reading (TTS) and data entry. When a Braille keyboard is used, what is needed is to convert the Braille sequences to whatever script / language is used before it is actually saved. +1 I am convinced that there are many developers both in India and in the rest of the world who are able to take on this challenge and have a proof of concept in a week. Remember it has to be integrated with the TTS used by the device. There are several out there, with different kinds of 'voices', a major one I know about being Festival (FOSS), but at the Conference, several persons referred to eSpeak. An important related piece of work is to augment the existing TTS' with Indian languages, also (for English) with Indian accents. Thanks, GerardM On 24 November 2011 22:12, Pradeep Mohandas pradeep.mohan...@hotmail.com wrote: hi, We were happy to have people with visual challenges challenging our interactions with them. I, personally, was challenged at at least two points in the conference although I thought I had been sensitized for such interactions. We do have an online feedback form for the Conference but wonder whether we can have more ways to reach people with visual challenges and the aged for feedback on how the Conference treated them and how we can improve our communication of the Conference (in future) to them. Thank you for bringing up this point, Vickram. warm regards, Pradeep Mohandas User:Prad2609 Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 21:45:03 +0530 From: vvcris...@radiophony.com To: wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: [Wikimediaindia-l] Braille/touchscreen integration Several persons attending the recent WikiConfIndia 2011 drew attention to the need for greater ease of use for persons with visual challenges - Barry Newstead referred specifically to this need, commenting that in general, usability improvements for persons with special needs pay off for the community at large. This recent development at Stanford http://www.springwise.com/lifestyle_leisure/braille-writing-software-touchscreen-devices/ describes how visually impaired persons with Braille skills can interact directly with touchscreen devices. What is very striking about this solution is that it does not involve tactile feedback, as one might expect. Instead, once switched to Braille mode, the screen senses multiple finger placement and translates that into the expected Braille codes (see the video to understand this, if you are unfamiliar with Braille typing). To echo Barry's comments made at WCI2011, I think a certain amount of such out-of-the-box thinking could go a long way to creating an interface that is intuitively more approachable than the present wiki editor. -- Vickram Fool On The Hill ___ Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from the list / change mailing preferences visit https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l ___ Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from the list / change mailing preferences visit https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l ___ Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from the list / change mailing preferences visit
Re: [Wikimediaindia-l] Braille/touchscreen integration
Hello The article is very clear: it is touchscreen for data entry, not reading. The device (integrated with TTS) reads out the characters as they are being typed. On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 3:43 PM, Srikanth Ramakrishnan parakara.gh...@gmail.com wrote: Gerard, Vickram, From my experience I know that Braille is a physically read language. It is read by feeling the raised dots on a surface. Eg: On elevator buttons, a series of dots on each button. I fail to understand how a touch screen display can work here. Regards, Srikanth On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 9:17 AM, Vickram Crishna vvcris...@radiophony.com wrote: On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 12:11 AM, Gerard Meijssen gerard.meijs...@gmail.com wrote: Hoi, I do not know exactly how Braille works but if a character in a standard script can be represented by Braille characters in stead, then all it seems to need is a method for us to replace the existing Unicode character with the Braille Unicode character. As we already have WebFonts functionality it seems to me that what is needed is a conversion before the characters are send to the user. When this is done, we can show you the Braille characters on your screen. What works for persons with visual challenges, who have been trained to use Braille typing, is the sequence of simultaneous keypresses that translate into language characters (there are Braille variants for non-Roman scripts). Since the visually challenged person cannot see the screen in any case, the display is not the point. This particular solution allows the touchscreen to accept multiple fingertip contact as individual characters, and of course, for the screen to switch smoothly between screen reading (TTS) and data entry. When a Braille keyboard is used, what is needed is to convert the Braille sequences to whatever script / language is used before it is actually saved. +1 I am convinced that there are many developers both in India and in the rest of the world who are able to take on this challenge and have a proof of concept in a week. Remember it has to be integrated with the TTS used by the device. There are several out there, with different kinds of 'voices', a major one I know about being Festival (FOSS), but at the Conference, several persons referred to eSpeak. An important related piece of work is to augment the existing TTS' with Indian languages, also (for English) with Indian accents. Thanks, GerardM On 24 November 2011 22:12, Pradeep Mohandas pradeep.mohan...@hotmail.com wrote: hi, We were happy to have people with visual challenges challenging our interactions with them. I, personally, was challenged at at least two points in the conference although I thought I had been sensitized for such interactions. We do have an online feedback form for the Conference but wonder whether we can have more ways to reach people with visual challenges and the aged for feedback on how the Conference treated them and how we can improve our communication of the Conference (in future) to them. Thank you for bringing up this point, Vickram. warm regards, Pradeep Mohandas User:Prad2609 Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 21:45:03 +0530 From: vvcris...@radiophony.com To: wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: [Wikimediaindia-l] Braille/touchscreen integration Several persons attending the recent WikiConfIndia 2011 drew attention to the need for greater ease of use for persons with visual challenges - Barry Newstead referred specifically to this need, commenting that in general, usability improvements for persons with special needs pay off for the community at large. This recent development at Stanford http://www.springwise.com/lifestyle_leisure/braille-writing-software-touchscreen-devices/ describes how visually impaired persons with Braille skills can interact directly with touchscreen devices. What is very striking about this solution is that it does not involve tactile feedback, as one might expect. Instead, once switched to Braille mode, the screen senses multiple finger placement and translates that into the expected Braille codes (see the video to understand this, if you are unfamiliar with Braille typing). To echo Barry's comments made at WCI2011, I think a certain amount of such out-of-the-box thinking could go a long way to creating an interface that is intuitively more approachable than the present wiki editor. -- Vickram Fool On The Hill ___ Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from the list / change mailing preferences visit https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l ___ Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from the list / change mailing
Re: [Wikimediaindia-l] Braille/touchscreen integration
If it is about data entry, then Braille doesn't really play much of a role does it? AFAIK, visually challenged people don't 'write' in Braille, just read. Correct me if I'm wrong please. --Regards, On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 4:04 PM, Vickram Crishna vvcris...@radiophony.comwrote: Hello The article is very clear: it is touchscreen for data entry, not reading. The device (integrated with TTS) reads out the characters as they are being typed. On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 3:43 PM, Srikanth Ramakrishnan parakara.gh...@gmail.com wrote: Gerard, Vickram, From my experience I know that Braille is a physically read language. It is read by feeling the raised dots on a surface. Eg: On elevator buttons, a series of dots on each button. I fail to understand how a touch screen display can work here. Regards, Srikanth On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 9:17 AM, Vickram Crishna vvcris...@radiophony.com wrote: On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 12:11 AM, Gerard Meijssen gerard.meijs...@gmail.com wrote: Hoi, I do not know exactly how Braille works but if a character in a standard script can be represented by Braille characters in stead, then all it seems to need is a method for us to replace the existing Unicode character with the Braille Unicode character. As we already have WebFonts functionality it seems to me that what is needed is a conversion before the characters are send to the user. When this is done, we can show you the Braille characters on your screen. What works for persons with visual challenges, who have been trained to use Braille typing, is the sequence of simultaneous keypresses that translate into language characters (there are Braille variants for non-Roman scripts). Since the visually challenged person cannot see the screen in any case, the display is not the point. This particular solution allows the touchscreen to accept multiple fingertip contact as individual characters, and of course, for the screen to switch smoothly between screen reading (TTS) and data entry. When a Braille keyboard is used, what is needed is to convert the Braille sequences to whatever script / language is used before it is actually saved. +1 I am convinced that there are many developers both in India and in the rest of the world who are able to take on this challenge and have a proof of concept in a week. Remember it has to be integrated with the TTS used by the device. There are several out there, with different kinds of 'voices', a major one I know about being Festival (FOSS), but at the Conference, several persons referred to eSpeak. An important related piece of work is to augment the existing TTS' with Indian languages, also (for English) with Indian accents. Thanks, GerardM On 24 November 2011 22:12, Pradeep Mohandas pradeep.mohan...@hotmail.com wrote: hi, We were happy to have people with visual challenges challenging our interactions with them. I, personally, was challenged at at least two points in the conference although I thought I had been sensitized for such interactions. We do have an online feedback form for the Conference but wonder whether we can have more ways to reach people with visual challenges and the aged for feedback on how the Conference treated them and how we can improve our communication of the Conference (in future) to them. Thank you for bringing up this point, Vickram. warm regards, Pradeep Mohandas User:Prad2609 Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 21:45:03 +0530 From: vvcris...@radiophony.com To: wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: [Wikimediaindia-l] Braille/touchscreen integration Several persons attending the recent WikiConfIndia 2011 drew attention to the need for greater ease of use for persons with visual challenges - Barry Newstead referred specifically to this need, commenting that in general, usability improvements for persons with special needs pay off for the community at large. This recent development at Stanford http://www.springwise.com/lifestyle_leisure/braille-writing-software-touchscreen-devices/ describes how visually impaired persons with Braille skills can interact directly with touchscreen devices. What is very striking about this solution is that it does not involve tactile feedback, as one might expect. Instead, once switched to Braille mode, the screen senses multiple finger placement and translates that into the expected Braille codes (see the video to understand this, if you are unfamiliar with Braille typing). To echo Barry's comments made at WCI2011, I think a certain amount of such out-of-the-box thinking could go a long way to creating an interface that is intuitively more approachable than the present wiki editor. -- Vickram Fool On The Hill ___ Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimediaindia-l] Braille/touchscreen integration
On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 4:39 PM, Srikanth Ramakrishnan parakara.gh...@gmail.com wrote: If it is about data entry, then Braille doesn't really play much of a role does it? AFAIK, visually challenged people don't 'write' in Braille, just read. Correct me if I'm wrong please. +1. Please read the article and view the video, otherwise we might as well be on two different planets :-) And please don't just take my word for it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braille --Regards, On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 4:04 PM, Vickram Crishna vvcris...@radiophony.com wrote: Hello The article is very clear: it is touchscreen for data entry, not reading. The device (integrated with TTS) reads out the characters as they are being typed. On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 3:43 PM, Srikanth Ramakrishnan parakara.gh...@gmail.com wrote: Gerard, Vickram, From my experience I know that Braille is a physically read language. It is read by feeling the raised dots on a surface. Eg: On elevator buttons, a series of dots on each button. I fail to understand how a touch screen display can work here. Regards, Srikanth On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 9:17 AM, Vickram Crishna vvcris...@radiophony.com wrote: On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 12:11 AM, Gerard Meijssen gerard.meijs...@gmail.com wrote: Hoi, I do not know exactly how Braille works but if a character in a standard script can be represented by Braille characters in stead, then all it seems to need is a method for us to replace the existing Unicode character with the Braille Unicode character. As we already have WebFonts functionality it seems to me that what is needed is a conversion before the characters are send to the user. When this is done, we can show you the Braille characters on your screen. What works for persons with visual challenges, who have been trained to use Braille typing, is the sequence of simultaneous keypresses that translate into language characters (there are Braille variants for non-Roman scripts). Since the visually challenged person cannot see the screen in any case, the display is not the point. This particular solution allows the touchscreen to accept multiple fingertip contact as individual characters, and of course, for the screen to switch smoothly between screen reading (TTS) and data entry. When a Braille keyboard is used, what is needed is to convert the Braille sequences to whatever script / language is used before it is actually saved. +1 I am convinced that there are many developers both in India and in the rest of the world who are able to take on this challenge and have a proof of concept in a week. Remember it has to be integrated with the TTS used by the device. There are several out there, with different kinds of 'voices', a major one I know about being Festival (FOSS), but at the Conference, several persons referred to eSpeak. An important related piece of work is to augment the existing TTS' with Indian languages, also (for English) with Indian accents. Thanks, GerardM On 24 November 2011 22:12, Pradeep Mohandas pradeep.mohan...@hotmail.com wrote: hi, We were happy to have people with visual challenges challenging our interactions with them. I, personally, was challenged at at least two points in the conference although I thought I had been sensitized for such interactions. We do have an online feedback form for the Conference but wonder whether we can have more ways to reach people with visual challenges and the aged for feedback on how the Conference treated them and how we can improve our communication of the Conference (in future) to them. Thank you for bringing up this point, Vickram. warm regards, Pradeep Mohandas User:Prad2609 Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 21:45:03 +0530 From: vvcris...@radiophony.com To: wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: [Wikimediaindia-l] Braille/touchscreen integration Several persons attending the recent WikiConfIndia 2011 drew attention to the need for greater ease of use for persons with visual challenges - Barry Newstead referred specifically to this need, commenting that in general, usability improvements for persons with special needs pay off for the community at large. This recent development at Stanford http://www.springwise.com/lifestyle_leisure/braille-writing-software-touchscreen-devices/ describes how visually impaired persons with Braille skills can interact directly with touchscreen devices. What is very striking about this solution is that it does not involve tactile feedback, as one might expect. Instead, once switched to Braille mode, the screen senses multiple finger placement and translates that into the expected Braille codes (see the video to understand this, if you are unfamiliar with Braille typing). To echo Barry's comments made at WCI2011, I think a certain amount of such out-of-the-box thinking
Re: [Wikimediaindia-l] Braille/touchscreen integration
Hoi, I do not know exactly how Braille works but if a character in a standard script can be represented by Braille characters in stead, then all it seems to need is a method for us to replace the existing Unicode character with the Braille Unicode character. As we already have WebFonts functionality it seems to me that what is needed is a conversion before the characters are send to the user. When this is done, we can show you the Braille characters on your screen. When a Braille keyboard is used, what is needed is to convert the Braille sequences to whatever script / language is used before it is actually saved. I am convinced that there are many developers both in India and in the rest of the world who are able to take on this challenge and have a proof of concept in a week. Thanks, GerardM On 24 November 2011 22:12, Pradeep Mohandas pradeep.mohan...@hotmail.com wrote: hi, We were happy to have people with visual challenges challenging our interactions with them. I, personally, was challenged at at least two points in the conference although I thought I had been sensitized for such interactions. We do have an online feedback form for the Conference but wonder whether we can have more ways to reach people with visual challenges and the aged for feedback on how the Conference treated them and how we can improve our communication of the Conference (in future) to them. Thank you for bringing up this point, Vickram. warm regards, Pradeep Mohandas User:Prad2609 Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 21:45:03 +0530 From: vvcris...@radiophony.com To: wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: [Wikimediaindia-l] Braille/touchscreen integration Several persons attending the recent WikiConfIndia 2011 drew attention to the need for greater ease of use for persons with visual challenges - Barry Newstead referred specifically to this need, commenting that in general, usability improvements for persons with special needs pay off for the community at large. This recent development at Stanford http://www.springwise.com/lifestyle_leisure/braille-writing-software-touchscreen-devices/ describes how visually impaired persons with Braille skills can interact directly with touchscreen devices. What is very striking about this solution is that it does not involve tactile feedback, as one might expect. Instead, once switched to Braille mode, the screen senses multiple finger placement and translates that into the expected Braille codes (see the video to understand this, if you are unfamiliar with Braille typing). To echo Barry's comments made at WCI2011, I think a certain amount of such out-of-the-box thinking could go a long way to creating an interface that is intuitively more approachable than the present wiki editor. -- Vickram Fool On The Hill ___ Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from the list / change mailing preferences visit https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l ___ Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from the list / change mailing preferences visit https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l ___ Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from the list / change mailing preferences visit https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l
Re: [Wikimediaindia-l] Braille/touchscreen integration
On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 12:11 AM, Gerard Meijssen gerard.meijs...@gmail.com wrote: Hoi, I do not know exactly how Braille works but if a character in a standard script can be represented by Braille characters in stead, then all it seems to need is a method for us to replace the existing Unicode character with the Braille Unicode character. As we already have WebFonts functionality it seems to me that what is needed is a conversion before the characters are send to the user. When this is done, we can show you the Braille characters on your screen. What works for persons with visual challenges, who have been trained to use Braille typing, is the sequence of simultaneous keypresses that translate into language characters (there are Braille variants for non-Roman scripts). Since the visually challenged person cannot see the screen in any case, the display is not the point. This particular solution allows the touchscreen to accept multiple fingertip contact as individual characters, and of course, for the screen to switch smoothly between screen reading (TTS) and data entry. When a Braille keyboard is used, what is needed is to convert the Braille sequences to whatever script / language is used before it is actually saved. +1 I am convinced that there are many developers both in India and in the rest of the world who are able to take on this challenge and have a proof of concept in a week. Remember it has to be integrated with the TTS used by the device. There are several out there, with different kinds of 'voices', a major one I know about being Festival (FOSS), but at the Conference, several persons referred to eSpeak. An important related piece of work is to augment the existing TTS' with Indian languages, also (for English) with Indian accents. Thanks, GerardM On 24 November 2011 22:12, Pradeep Mohandas pradeep.mohan...@hotmail.com wrote: hi, We were happy to have people with visual challenges challenging our interactions with them. I, personally, was challenged at at least two points in the conference although I thought I had been sensitized for such interactions. We do have an online feedback form for the Conference but wonder whether we can have more ways to reach people with visual challenges and the aged for feedback on how the Conference treated them and how we can improve our communication of the Conference (in future) to them. Thank you for bringing up this point, Vickram. warm regards, Pradeep Mohandas User:Prad2609 Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 21:45:03 +0530 From: vvcris...@radiophony.com To: wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: [Wikimediaindia-l] Braille/touchscreen integration Several persons attending the recent WikiConfIndia 2011 drew attention to the need for greater ease of use for persons with visual challenges - Barry Newstead referred specifically to this need, commenting that in general, usability improvements for persons with special needs pay off for the community at large. This recent development at Stanford http://www.springwise.com/lifestyle_leisure/braille-writing-software-touchscreen-devices/ describes how visually impaired persons with Braille skills can interact directly with touchscreen devices. What is very striking about this solution is that it does not involve tactile feedback, as one might expect. Instead, once switched to Braille mode, the screen senses multiple finger placement and translates that into the expected Braille codes (see the video to understand this, if you are unfamiliar with Braille typing). To echo Barry's comments made at WCI2011, I think a certain amount of such out-of-the-box thinking could go a long way to creating an interface that is intuitively more approachable than the present wiki editor. -- Vickram Fool On The Hill ___ Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from the list / change mailing preferences visit https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l ___ Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from the list / change mailing preferences visit https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l ___ Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from the list / change mailing preferences visit https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l -- Vickram Fool On The Hill http://communicall.wordpress.com ___ Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from the list / change mailing preferences visit https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l
