siegman@sierra.Stanford.EDU (Anthony E. Siegman) (03/22/90)
Some weeks ago I posted a request for information on interfaces between TeX and Braille, or any other output devices for the blind. The following is a summary of all the messages I received. I'm sorry -- I can't serve as a contact point for any further messages. Please post to the Info-Mac Digest or comp.text.tex, as seems appropriate. --A. E. Siegman (siegman@sierra.stanford.edu) %--------------------------------------------------------------- From: Gerhard Weber <weber%informatik.uni-stuttgart.de@RELAY.CS.NET> Date: Thu, 8 Mar 90 09:05:34 +0100 To: siegman@SIERRA.STANFORD.EDU Subject: Using tex for braille output Cc: weber%informatik.uni-stuttgart.de@RELAY.CS.NET Dear Anthony: Our blind students of the department of computer science are using tex. Your question is not clear to me: 1) Do you think of a braille font that is printed (e.g. laser printer, howtek tactile graph master) and then made tactile (e.g. with swell paper)? 2) Do you think of "unstripping" the tex file (this is done here by the students) 3) Do you think of accessing the preview screen in an interactive manner by the blind user (we are using a (selfmade) hardcopy program and braille printers as well as our pin-matrix device)? I am forwarding your message to Prof. Jurgensen at London, Ontario who gives tex his blind students also (helmut@uwovax.bitnet) Gerhard Gerhard Weber weber@ifi.informatik.uni-stuttgart.dbp.de Universitaet Stuttgart Institut fuer Informatik Tel.: +49 (711) 121-1404 Azenbergstr. 12 Fax: +49 (711) 121-1346 D-7000 Stuttgart 1S %--------------------------------------------------------------- From: Tony Siegman <siegman@> To: Gerhard Weber <weber%informatik.uni-stuttgart.de@RELAY.CS.NET> Subject: Re: Using tex for braille output In-Reply-To: Your message of Thu, 8 Mar 90 09:05:34 +0100 Dear Prof. Weber: The question arose because I will (for the first time) have a blind student in an undergraduate electromagnetic theory course next semester who will need to have materials converted into braille. I have done a large book and many other things in TeX and routinely use it for class notes and the like, and in discussing this with him the question arose whether TeX could be printed in braille. From my conversation with him, I think he/we would be very interested in information on all three of the output modes you mentioned: raised paper "braille printing", TeX source stripping (I assume you mean taking out all the \ commands), and tactile device output (which is familiar to us because of Professor John Linvill's "Opticon" device). Any references or information you can send will be much appreciated. --Prof. A. E. Siegman (siegman@sierra.stanford.edu) %--------------------------------------------------------------- From: Helmut Jurgensen <helmut@csd.uwo.ca> Date: Thu, 8 Mar 90 08:59:41 EST To: helmut@csd.uwo.ca (CC for H. Jurgensen), siegman@sierra.stanford.edu, weber%ifistg@unido.bitnet Subject: Braille from TeX It is very difficult (see Arrabito and Jurgensen, J. Electronic Publ. 1, 1988, 117--131). If it just concerns text (without mathematics) a standard translator will do if you strip out the control sequences. But with fancy stuff like mathematics, tables, etc. there is no universal solution so far. The paper discusses the difficulties and also gives a few references to simliar attempts. I don't know what shape our "prototype" is in right now (it has never been stable and completely functional) but it is worth checking with Robert Arrabito (robbie@csd.uwo.ca). However, I am afraid we may not be of much help immediately. Yours sincerely, Helmut Jurgensen Helmut Jurgensen Professor Department of Computer Science The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5B7 phone: (519)661-3560 FAX: (519)661-3292 TELEX: TEL LDN 064 7134 helmut@julian.uucp helmut@uwo.ca helmut@uwovax.bitnet %--------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 12 Mar 90 15:52:08 -0800 From: jsmith@janus.Berkeley.EDU (J. Steve Smith) Message-Id: <9003122352.AA00409@janus.Berkeley.EDU> To: siegman@sierra.stanford.edu Subject: Braille output of mathmatics I noticed your request for info about converting tex files to Braille. I am fairly well connected into the blind community ( being the author of Flipper, a screen reading program for IBM PC's ) and I am reasonably sure that such a conversion program does not exist. I would certainly like to hear of any such programs. Raised Dot Computing sells some much more basic facilities for outputting Neimith (SP?) code (math code standard for Braille.) but they are very limited compared to a translator such as you describe. I have several friends who are blind mathematicians, and they generally use greatly modified personal codes for their own notes. Have you considered giving the blind student the raw TeX input in computer format? He could then use the computer for access, or he could Braille the raw TeX file into computer Braille which might be as readable as any other encoding. You should also ask the student if he knows of methods he could use to access the material. He may prefer to use a reader for the mathmatical portions. John Stephen Smith P. S. I am an assistant professor at UC Berkeley in quantum electronics, and I am familiar with your book. I haven't actually had a blind student in one of my classes, however! %--------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 14 Mar 90 11:53:21 CST From: delliott@cec2.wustl.edu (Dave Elliott) Message-Id: <9003141753.AA27972@cec2.wustl.edu> To: siegman@sierra.stanford.edu Subject: Re: Braille Output from TeX? Subject: Re: Braille Output from TeX? Newsgroups: comp.text.tex Organization: Washington University, St. Louis, MO Your project deserves a response! This is all I know: IBM Atlanta has a computers-for-handicapped project, and some years ago IBM made a braille printer... worth a try. The US General Services Administration in Washington, DC has an office for such services also. The National Science Foundation has a program called FAH (Facilitation Awards for Handicapped Scientists and Engineers) whose purpose is to reduce barriers to participation by disabled faculty, staff, and student research assistants -- it applies to work on almost any NSF project, as a supplement to an existing grant or a component of a new proposal. Call Lola Rogers at NSF. There might be a possibility of getting funding to develop software for this purpose, also... from SEE or CISE directorates. Come to think of it, there was an item (in BYTE?) about a new printer (laser?) which produces raised characters and lines on a special plastic "paper"-- certainly producing Braille dot characters from TeX makes sense. Please let me know what happens... and I'll pass it on to my University's coordinater for such services. David L. Elliott Dept. of SSM, Washington University St. Louis, MO 63130. (314)-889-6092 FAX (314)-726-4434 delliott@CEC1.WUSTL.EDU %--------------------------------------------------------------- cc of the above emailed to: weber%informatik.uni-stuttgart.de@RELAY.CS.NET, helmut@csd.uwo.ca, weber%ifistg@unido.bitnet ,helmut@csd.uwo.ca, jsmith@janus.Berkeley.EDU, delliott@CEC1.WUSTL.EDU