--=====================_3481167==_ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Hi all, Len Kasday here. Hello. Lets not give up on handwriting. Here's a couple of approaches. The first approach is to use the simplified system of writing used in Palm PDA's, called Grafitti.. at least the type of simplified handwriting used in the Palm Pilot. To make a long story short, I can writing the alphabet on my Palm with my eyes shut, either using the stylus or the back of my fingernail. True, I learned to write on it with my eyes open (I'm sighted) but I expect that we could figure out a tactile aid for folks who are blind. The key is that the letters in Grafitti are all written in a simplified system. Each letter is a single stroke. For example, the A is written as an upper case A without the crosspiece, so it looks like an upside down V. Furthermore, it doesn't have to be an upside down V exactly. The top doesn't have to be pointed. It can be an upside down U, or a half a circle with the tips pointing down, etc. There may be a similar open source thing for Linux. Or, maybe we could use a Palm or one of the Palm clones. An advantage is that they are available with monochrome screens which are much less battery drain than a color screen. The ones from Handspring (http://www.handspring.com) have provision for plugin cards and there's probably some audio options (I can't tell because I can't get onto their site now. Big question is what it would take to add speech to the OS. Now here's a second way... which actually is very similar to grafitti. It combines the dot approach with the handwriting approach. The idea is that instead of jabbing at dots, all characters are entered by sliding the finger over a series of dots without taking the finger off the pad. I think this may be faster that jabbing individual dots, at least once you learned the dot patterns, because you're just sliding your finger around instead of lifting it up and down. Furthermore, the paths your finger traces could be mnemonically related to written characters which would make it easier for people who don't know braille. (like I said, very similar to Graffiti in philosophy). Here's the pattern I was thinking of. I've attached a .gif file to accommodate any sighted folks who might read this. There are 6 dots equally spaced around a circle, starting at the top. In other words, they are spaced 60 degrees apart. There is also a dot in the center. Starting at the top and going clockwise around the circle the dots are named as follows. Top Upper Right Lower Right Bottom Lower Left Upper Left Plus the one in the center To help guide the fingers there's a raise circle around the outer dots, plus an ellipse joining the top 3 dots of the circle and the center, plus an ellipse joining the bottom three dots of the circle and the center. Also a vertical line down the center. Here's how the letters are from A to Z. They have some resemblance to the Graffiti alphabet used in the Palm Pilot. A Like a curvey upper case A without the crossbar. Starting lower left, clockwise around circle, ending at lower left, In other words. B Like a Beta. Starting Bottom, up to top, over to upper right, in to center, out to lower right, end at bottom at bottom. C Pretty much a C. Upper right curving counterclockwise around circle to lower right. D. An upper case D. Bottom to top clockwise around circle back to bottom. E. Like an Epsilon. Bottom, clockwise around circle to lower left, to center, out to upper left, curve around to top. Optionally, user can start at lower right and end at upper right. F. Like an upper case F without the crosspiece. Bottom up to top to upper right G Top or upper left counterclockwise around circle to lower right and then to center H like a lower case h. Top to bottom then up to middle to lower right I like an upper case I. Top to bottom. J. An upper case J. Top to bottom to lower left K. Just the right part of the K. Upper right to center to lower right L. A backwards J. Top to bottom to lower right M. Like a lower case M. Lower left to upper left to center to upper right to lower right. N. Like upper case N. Lower left to upper left through center to lower right to upper right O. A circle. Start at bottom go completely around circle. P. An upper case P. Bottom to top to upper right to center Q. Just like an O but after you reach the bottom go back to lower left R. Like a P but after reaching center to to lower right S. An upper case S. Upper right counterclockwise to upper left through center to lower right, clockwise to lower left T. Kind of an upper case T with right part of top bar missing. Upper left to top and down to bottom. U. An upper case U. Upper left counterclockwise through bottom to upper right. V. Same as U but start at upper right and go clockwise through bottom to upper left W. Lower case W. Upper left counterclockwise to bottom, up to center, back to bottom, counterclockwise to lower right X. An upper case X with the left tips joined. Upper left through center to lower right, to upper right, though center to lower left. Y. An upper case Y. Upper left to center, to bottom and back to center, then to upper right Z. Like an upper case Z with curved top and bottom. An exercise for the reader <grin> And now to figure out the numbers... Well, I'll stop here for now. After all, like I said, this may not be necessary if we use Grafitti. Or alternately, this could be used as a training aid for Grafitti. The question is: what's fastest for a person who's blind? Also, we don't have to limit ourselves to a single system. We could people the option of one of the systems I describe here or Braille. Different folks may prefer different methods. 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Kasday, Ph.D. Institute on Disabilities/UAP, and Department of Electrical Engineering Temple University 423 Ritter Annex, Philadelphia, PA 19122 kasday at acm.org http://astro.temple.edu/~kasday (215) 204-2247 (voice) (800) 750-7428 (TTY) --=====================_3481167==_-- -- Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV | Friday whistle, how did I make it? Email: davros at ycardz.com | If I had my way, I'd run out naked! Phone: (972) 889-8147 | Banging pub doors, hey! Let me in! Voice mail: (877) 791-5298 | Gimme my blue jeans again.
