In this exciting Spotlight interview, James Oates sits down with the highly intelligent team at Grapheel Innovation. The team consists of:
• Daniel Hajas: Blind, theoretical physics student with PhD in Informatics, special research interest on accessible STEM.
• Tim Lingard: Programmer and physicist, PhD student at the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (Portsmouth), Head of Information Systems and online services.
• David Turner: Physics student at Sussex, Head of R&D at Grapheel, researching engineering solutions for the Tactile Graphics Display.
The team discusses the enormous problem that exist in providing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics education to people who are blind or visually impaired. They explained the three-pronged approach that they have devised to conquer this problem.
Step one is called “Iris,” which is a science community based image description service specifically for STEM graphical content used as teaching material. The student uploads an image, and receives a detailed description from a volunteer who is a professional in that field of study.
The second is a consultancy scheme where they will advise on solutions that are in existence for accessible science. Various assistive software, hardware, teaching resources, good practice in science accessibility and so on.
The third is the development of a Tactile Graphics Display. They wish to carry out hardware research and development and concentrate on materials science for developing cost and performance efficient actuators. They also wish to collaborate with the various initiatives developing their own tactile displays and open their operating system for third party developers. This way Grapheel could develop STEM specific applications for already existing tactile graphics display devices, since there are organizations like the American Printing House for the Blind, doing a great job in the hardware development front.
Visit Grapheel’s website to learn more or get involved in helping in this remarkable effort.
You can also follow Grapheel on Twitter.
WordPress Add-On for Google Docs Lets You Post Directly to WordPress From Google Docs.
Autommatic has developed a useful add-on for Google Docs that allows you to post directly to your WordPress site from Google Docs.
If you are collaborating on a post with another author, you can both work on the same document in Google Docs before posting to your website. Images and formatting of your document will easily transfer to WordPress.
The add-on can be found on the Google Web Store page and you just must click to install it. Then, you’ll have to give the plugin access to post on your behalf. That’s it. You can now use Google Docs to write your next WordPress blog post with your colleagues.
Once you are ready to save the Google Docs draft as a blog post, you can go to the add-on’s menu and open WordPress.com for Google Docs. The sidebar that shows up is the place where you can add WordPress.com or Jetpack-connected sites, from which you’ll later choose.
Save the draft and when that process is done, a preview link will appear so you can see what it looks like on the site. Any additional tweaks can be made directly into the WordPress.com editor.
From Microsoft Garage: Hearing AI: Connecting Deaf People to a World of Sound.
Microsoft Garage is developing another really cool iOS app called Hearing AI. This app runs on an iOS device. It shows the intensity of sounds around you, and it also uses real-time speech-to-text technology to display a written transcription of conversations picked up by your phone’s microphone. Not only can you read what someone is saying to you, but you can also see a display of how loud and soft their voice is while they are speaking.
VIP: CSUN 2017 Special Event!
In this very special VIP, Joel Ramos, Hugo Gallegos, and Rachel Feinberg tell us all about their exciting experiences at this year’s Assistive Technology Conference, hosted by California State University Northridge.
BrailleEasy: A One-Handed Braille Keyboard for the Visually Impaired.
Qatar Computing Research Institute developed a virtual on-screen one-handed braille keyboard for those who are blind and have motor impairments that make two-handed braille typing difficult to perform. This app is free to download from the iOS app store, but is currently not available for Android devices. You are able to use it as your default keyboard, or just switch to it when you want. It divides a braille cell into two columns. You enter the dots for the first column, followed by the dots for the second column. I gave it a try, and once I got used to the gestures that accompany one-handed typing, I found it quite easy to use.
CBT Live From #CSUNATC17- Dot Braille Smart Watch Demo!
The CBT Team can’t get enough of the Dot Smart Watch as Hugo Gallegos gets a demonstration from Alex Lee of Dot Incorporated. The watch will be go into production later this month.
Microsoft Releases Visual Studio 2017 with Accessibility Improvements.
Tomorrow, March 7, Microsoft is holding a live session to announce the same day release of Visual Studio 2017.
Microsoft is holding a two-day virtual event to present the latest integrated development environment (IDE) in detail, and all developers will be able to follow the live stream and learn how to get started with interactive technical demos.
The event will kick off tomorrow at 8AM PST with a keynote introducing the latest innovations in Visual Studio, .NET, Xamarin, Azure, and more. If this is too early for you, you’re still welcome to watch the following Q&A sessions and demos that will cover native Android, iOS, and Windows Development in C# with Xamarin, Azure Development in Visual Studio 2017 and more.
On Wednesday, March 8, get ready for a full-day of live interacting trainings covering mobile, desktop and web development with the latest IDE. All sessions will be live streamed on the dedicated website.
CBT Live From #CSUNATC17: The ElBraille, A Compact Mobile Braille Display and PC
Hugo Gallegos speaks with Adi from Elita Group about the ElBraille docking station for the Focus Blue 14 and the ElBraille 40.
ElBraille is a portable device designed for users who are blind or deaf-blind and want to stay connected at school, at workplace or home as well as on the go. A user can utilize braille and/or speech for output and braille for the input. The device supports Windows 10 functionality, including third party applications accessible with JAWS. ElBraille has specially designed software installed on it as well. ElBraille is powered by Windows 10, JAWS 18.0 screen reading software and a Focus 14 Blue Braille display. ElBraille is a full-featured portable PC. It will allow its owner not only to quickly create notes and read e-mail, but also work in popular Microsoft Office apps,
CBT Live From #CSUNATC17: Braille Sense Polaris, A Braille Display, and an Android Tablet
Hugo Gallegos speaks with Damian Pickering, Vice President of Sales at HIMS Incorporated, about the new Braille Sense Polaris.
The Braille Sense Polaris is the first Virtual Braille Tablet for the blind. Polaris is the latest in the popular BrailleSense Notetaker family and features state-of-the-art hardware and software including Android’s Lollipop operating system and the name-sake Polaris Office Suite found on millions of Smart Phones worldwide. Polaris integrates a touch-sensitive Braille display with Miracast connectivity to the mainstream computer or tablet of your choice. At less than 2 pounds, Polaris is a sleek, professional mobile tool seamlessly blending the feel of a traditional Notetaker with innovative access to mainstream applications and Google Services such as Docs, Drive, Slides, Sheets, and Classroom.
CBT Live From CSUNATC17: Dolphin Computer Access, Don’t Let Low Vision or Blindness Hold You Back
Hugo Gallegos talks to Steve Bennett from Dolphin Computer Access about the GuideReader Pod and the upcoming release of the GuideReader Tablet. Dolphin Computer Access was founded in 1986 from one small office in Worcester UK, this UK-owned company has grown to become a global market leader, with more than 50 staff worldwide specializing in software developing solutions to suit all types of reading impairment – from low vision to blindness and dyslexia.
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