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Requirements for digital braille readers (self.Blind)
submitted 8y ago by agoose77
Hi everyone,
I have recently stumbled across a few articles which describe the challenges faced by programmers without the ability to see. I was curious to discover alternate means by which information can be accessed by the blind, especially in the context of programming. One of the important semantic differences between literature and a computer program is that the details matter, equally as much as the general trend of the document. For this reason, audio readers, which may work well for digital print media, would seem to struggle in the field of program development.
There are digital braille readers, yet the majority of these devices cost in excess of two thousand pounds, with some exceeding over twice that. It seems to me that the reasons for such costs are a result of a lack of competition, development stagnation and a relatively niche market. This is not to say that there are few willing to use such a device, but rather such devices have a specific relevance to the visually impaired.
I am curious to determine what the requirements of a digital braille reader might be, and also to sample people's own experiences, to determine if it would be beneficial outside of the software development context.
For those with experience of reading Braille:
- When you read a document, how many fingers do you use at once? I've seen mention of using the two index fingers. Is it feasible to use a single finger?
- Does the process of moving one's finger along a sentence provide quicker or easier understanding of its meaning than a character wise substitution would?
- If you have used a digital Braille reader, what were your experiences? What were the benefits and disadvantages?
- What would you consider a comfortable rate of characters / words per minute when reading Braille?
About me:
My name is Angus Hollands,
I'm a nineteen year old student currently reading Nuclear Science at university. I have experience in a number of programming languages and electronics.
Thank you for your time!
I have recently stumbled across a few articles which describe the challenges faced by programmers without the ability to see. I was curious to discover alternate means by which information can be accessed by the blind, especially in the context of programming. One of the important semantic differences between literature and a computer program is that the details matter, equally as much as the general trend of the document. For this reason, audio readers, which may work well for digital print media, would seem to struggle in the field of program development.
There are digital braille readers, yet the majority of these devices cost in excess of two thousand pounds, with some exceeding over twice that. It seems to me that the reasons for such costs are a result of a lack of competition, development stagnation and a relatively niche market. This is not to say that there are few willing to use such a device, but rather such devices have a specific relevance to the visually impaired.
I am curious to determine what the requirements of a digital braille reader might be, and also to sample people's own experiences, to determine if it would be beneficial outside of the software development context.
For those with experience of reading Braille:
- When you read a document, how many fingers do you use at once? I've seen mention of using the two index fingers. Is it feasible to use a single finger?
- Does the process of moving one's finger along a sentence provide quicker or easier understanding of its meaning than a character wise substitution would?
- If you have used a digital Braille reader, what were your experiences? What were the benefits and disadvantages?
- What would you consider a comfortable rate of characters / words per minute when reading Braille?
About me:
My name is Angus Hollands,
I'm a nineteen year old student currently reading Nuclear Science at university. I have experience in a number of programming languages and electronics.
Thank you for your time!
jage9 2 points
As you mentioned, the biggest barrier to more people getting braille displays is price. There are several groups working on this in various areas, but to this point, we haven't seen anything tangible. National Braille Press comes to mind as one organization that has been doing research on more affordable braille displays.
Some people have tried models where it displays a single character at a time, but I don't find these to offer the same level of flexibility. At minimum, a full line (40 cells or more) seems ideal, especially for programmers as one can feel the characters in relationship to each other and spot errors such as missing braces, etc. A good braille reader will use multiple fingers on both hands and can read at 200-300 words a minute or more. If you do a search on braille display research, you could probably track down some of what has been tried or that is currently being worked on. Current braille display tech is largely 20-30 years old and is very cost-prohibitive as you have likely noticed.
Some people have tried models where it displays a single character at a time, but I don't find these to offer the same level of flexibility. At minimum, a full line (40 cells or more) seems ideal, especially for programmers as one can feel the characters in relationship to each other and spot errors such as missing braces, etc. A good braille reader will use multiple fingers on both hands and can read at 200-300 words a minute or more. If you do a search on braille display research, you could probably track down some of what has been tried or that is currently being worked on. Current braille display tech is largely 20-30 years old and is very cost-prohibitive as you have likely noticed.
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