Hi,
I have successfully made a USB braille keyboard from an Arduino and a
couple buttons wired to a resistor ladder to use less pins on the Arduino.
You have to flash the USB to serial chip on the arduino to act as a HID
device, but then the keyboard works with any computer.
This should work with an atmega chip and the usb to serial chip Arduino
Unos use making the keyboard interface very small.
You can get individual key switches that mechanical keyboards use like
the cherry MX switches rather cheaply.
I think another aspect of an open source hardware project for the blind
is that it should be buildable and modifiable by blind people. That
means more off the shelf components and through-hole components instead
of specialized boards and surface-mount components.
Include links to specialized documentation, like how to solder as a
blind person.
If anyone can build it and program it, then each person can choose to
make their device in any configuration.
For example, some might like braille keyboards, whilst others might opt
for a one-handed wearable-style chorded keyboard.
David
On 8/5/2017 9:44 PM, Tom Fowle wrote:
It's my belief that doing the hardware and case are going to be the hangup.
Yes there is 3D printing, but how many people really do have access to such
devices that are good enough to do usable cases.
My very clever wife suggests the following---
There are 25 key MIDI keyboards for as low as $50.00, can be more. They are
called "MIDI controllers" thus have probably just a single chip that decodes
the keys and produces MIDI out.
Perhaps there might be room for a PI in one of them.
You could use the two sets of 3 black keys for the basic braille and the
extra two "left side" black keys for dots 7&8, then the white keys are up
for grabs.
A serial port can, I think, read MIDI.
Of course this locks the project to a device that "we" have no controll
over, thus it can go away whenever "THEY" want it too.
Sometimes "re-purposing" works?
If such a keyboard can "chord" and it should, then software on the PI might
simply read the MIDI.
Weird but interesting what?
Tom Fowle
On Sat, Aug 05, 2017 at 08:55:06PM -0700, Tom Fowle wrote:
There is no signifficant extra cost to getting voice output if you can put===========================================================
up with espeak, running speakup and orca.
Firefox, and probably chromium or some varriant of them should do, and there
are
loads of email options available Mutt, Pine, Elm and others.
The daisy reader is gonna be about the only software challenge.
The real hangup is going to be a reliable braille keyboard and case.
Anybody can build a one-off braille keyboard that kind of works using off
the shelf key switches and a hand wired board, but a case that fits and can
be made cheaply is going to need some financial committment.
Don't get into the game of writing special software just to include a few
features you think you can't live without unless there simply isn't anything
available. The other thing to keep in mind is that somebody has to manage
updates and repair, and that costs bucks unless you have really dedicated
long term volunteers.
I've seen this idea around for years and it almost never lives long.
APH put too much money into a fancy case and keyboard for the braille plus,
that's why the high price.
Just a very biased set of grouchy thoughts. <GRIN>
Tom Fowle WA6IVG
Retired rehab engineer
On Fri, Aug 04, 2017 at 09:59:33PM -0400, David Arocho wrote:
I am very interested in your efforts. I had floated the idea of a machine===========================================================
like the one you are positing. The feedback was predominantly negative,
though the sample of respondents was small. Among the most cogent
objections were (1) you can accomplish the same thing with current Android
apps at a much lower cost; and (2) implementing voice output on the
Raspberry computers increases the cost significantly above the $100
objective.
I think, however, that the project is worth exploring further.
As far as what basic features need to be implemented, here is my list:
(1) reliable Email access;
(2) a speedy web browser;
(3) a well designed daisy reader;
(4) direct access to a shell program for running external apps and promoting
further development.
These ideas are not new. As a matter of fact the American Printing House
for the Blind brought out a linux driven note taker about seven years ago,
called the Braille Plus. It utilized available open source software. The
daisy reader was excellent, the mail application worked flawlessly, but the
web browser was agonizingly slow and the editor was not too great. All in
all, though, it was a very well thought out machine. I still have one that
works. The problem, however, was the price of $1300.
I must admit that the feedback I have received leads me to question whether
the raspberry is up to the task; but if someone can meet the hardware and
software challenges it would be a tremendous feat and should prove
financially rewarding.
David
-----Original Message-----
From: raspberry-vi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:raspberry-vi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Rich Morin
Sent: Friday, August 04, 2017 1:22 PM
To: raspberry-vi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [raspberry-vi] Re: What software is included in the current
Raspberry VI image?
Hi, all. By way of introduction, I'm a sighted friend of Amanda Lacy.
I've been working with her for a few years on various projects.
Our working name for the note taker (really, a blind-friendly handheld
personal computer) is "Perky", because we plan to include a chorded,
Perkins-style keyboard.
We're still in the early prototyping phase, but a kickstarter (etc)
launch might be a possibility at some point. We'd like to keep the
parts cost under $100, allowing an affordable kit or finished unit.
In any case, we'll use open source hardware and software, so others
can build on our work.
Raspberry VI
Raspberry VI seems like a great starting point for the system software,
but I've been having problems in finding out specific information about
the system. As I understand it, the distribution adds several features
to Raspbian Lite (Jessie):
- Mate - desktop environment, based on GNOME 2
- Orca - graphical screen reader for GNOME
- Piespeakup - espeakup for the Raspberry Pi
- Speakup - console screen reader
Q: Is anything missing from this list, incorrect, etc?
Q: Where can I find information on the build process?
Q: Is there a public repository for the build tree?
I've downloaded and unpacked the archive, but I haven't loaded the image
onto an SD card yet, let alone booted the system. Once I do this, where
might I find build-related documentation, etc?
Preferences
I'd like to know more about folks' preferences in this sort of device.
Here are some starting points for discussion...
We're thinking about having two rows of eight chordable buttons for input.
This could support 6 or 8 dot braille, emulate a Morse code key or paddle,
etc. A standard keyboard could also be attached via Bluetooth or USB. Is
there any other input device we should consider adding?
We've considered two candidates for the computer. The RasPi Zero W (ZW) is
small, inexpensive, and uses very little power. However, it only has one
USB port and one CPU core. The RasPi 3 Model B (3B) has four USB ports and
four cores. However, it is larger, more expensive, and more power-hungry.
A set of three 18650 Lithium-Ion batteries can hold about 8000 mAh of charge
at 3.7 VDC. This can power a ZW for about 100 hours (four days) or a 3B for
about 30 hours (1+ day). Which is more important to you: speed or duration?
Any other constructive comments or feedback would be most welcome!
-r
--
http://www.cfcl.com/rdm Rich Morin rdm@xxxxxxxx
http://www.cfcl.com/rdm/resume San Bruno, CA, USA +1 650-873-7841
Software system design, development, and documentation
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Raspberry Pi and the Raspberry Pi logo are trademarks of the Raspberry Pi
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This list is not affiliated to the Raspberry Pi Foundation and the views and
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Mike Ray, list creator, January 2013
===========================================================
The raspberry-vi mailing list
Archives: //www.freelists.org/archives/raspberry-vi
Administrative contact: <mike.ray@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
-----------------------------------------------------------
Raspberry Pi and the Raspberry Pi logo are trademarks of the Raspberry Pi
Foundation.
This list is not affiliated to the Raspberry Pi Foundation and the views
and attitudes expressed by the subscribers to this list do not reflect
those of the Foundation.
Mike Ray, list creator, January 2013
The raspberry-vi mailing list
Archives: //www.freelists.org/archives/raspberry-vi
Administrative contact: <mike.ray@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
-----------------------------------------------------------
Raspberry Pi and the Raspberry Pi logo are trademarks of the Raspberry Pi
Foundation.
This list is not affiliated to the Raspberry Pi Foundation and the views and
attitudes expressed by the subscribers to this list do not reflect those of
the Foundation.
Mike Ray, list creator, January 2013
The raspberry-vi mailing list
Archives: //www.freelists.org/archives/raspberry-vi
Administrative contact: <mike.ray@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
-----------------------------------------------------------
Raspberry Pi and the Raspberry Pi logo are trademarks of the Raspberry Pi
Foundation.
This list is not affiliated to the Raspberry Pi Foundation and the views and
attitudes expressed by the subscribers to this list do not reflect those of
the Foundation.
Mike Ray, list creator, January 2013
