Re: [Wikimediaindia-l] Braille/touchscreen integration

On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 12:11 AM, Gerard Meijssen &lt;gerard.meijssen(a)gmail.com 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. 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 > &lt;pradeep.mohandas(a)hotmail.com> > 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: vvcrishna(a)radiophony.com > > To: wikimediaindia-l(a)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-touchs… > > 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(a)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(a)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(a)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>