From: NRCGSH@ritvax.isc.rit.edu (Norm Coombs)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Here is a unique opportunity.  Please read
Date: 12 Dec 92 12:33:27 GMT
Reply-To: NRCGSH@ritvax.isc.rit.edu (Norm Coombs)
X-Fidonet: Split
Originator: wtm@sheldev.shel.isc-br.com

Index Number: 26724

[This is from the EASI mailing list -- Bill McGarry]

EASI folk have a unique  opportunity to help in an important
research project to assist development of improved access to math
texts for visually impaired students and professionals.  This is a
difficult problem, and there are a handful of key people exploring
ways to transcend it.

One of these people is Professor John Gardner from Oregon who,
himself, is a blind physics professor and researcher.  He has
written me (norman Coombs) and asked if EASI can help.  He wants
suggestions for a good freshman text to use as a model for a pilot
test of an embossed math system he is developing.  He also needs
some volunteers for proffing.  This is in confunction with the work
he iss doing and which is supported by an NSF grant.  I think it is
a wrothy project, and I'd be happy to hear that some of you agree
and volunteer.

I believe the best way to explain the project is to include a copy
of a longish message from John Gardner and let you hear it in his
words.  What follows is a couple hundred lines from his mail.  It
begins with his email address which you may need.  I'll also append
his name and email address at the very end.

Norman Coombs
Chair, Project EASI.

From: John Gardner, <gardner@physics.orst.edu>

The research phase on my math-writing project Dots+ is more or
less complete, and I am planning to test it by publishing at
least one book, possibly more depending on whether EASI can
help me enlist a lot of help, in time for the 1993-94 academic
year.  Before I ask you for help, I should tell you what Dots+
is.  For the sake of efficiency I will just copy the
appropriate part of the rough draft of a short report I am
writing for my panel of testers.  I marked the end of the
report by a bunch of stars and continue my letter at that
point.

Brief Description of Dots+

Dots+ is a method of presenting hard-copy information to blind
readers.  It incorporates both braille and graphics in an
integrated fashion.  It is designed primarily for mathematical
and scientific applications but is also useful for materials in
which graphs, bar charts, and line drawings are integral to
understanding.  At present, Dots+ documents can be produced
only with commercial presses, but desk top printing should be
possible in the future using either a wax-jet printer or a
high-resolution braille embosser.  It is anticipated that
software drivers will be available to allow dots+ documents to
be produced with common word processors or from such programs
as Tex or SGML, both of which are accessible to blind users.

Text in a Dots+ document is standard braille.  Math equations
are reproduced as enlarged images of the equation as printed
for a sighted person.  The plus, minus, and equals signs,
parentheses, brackets, the division line in fractions, and the
multitude of exotic symbols used in advanced science and math
are all printed as raised images.  Some symbols may be enlarged
more than others or their shapes may be emphasized for clarity,
but all are instantly recognizable by sighted mathematicians.
Braille is used only for alphabetic characters, numbers, and
punctuation marks used within the equation.  The placement of
symbols and characters is the same in Dots+ equations as it
would be in the same equation written for a sighted person.
Subscripts are dropped below and superscripts are raised above
the position of the main character.  Numerators of fractions
are placed above the denominators.  In advanced equations,
symbol placement such as sum and integral limits, are
preserved.

In order to avoid ambiguity and to incorporate most of the
characters used in elementary math into single braille cells,
Dots+ braille is based on the 8-dot cell and does not use any
dropped symbols.  Dots+ braille cells have been chosen to be as
intuitively-related as possible to literary braille.  The lower
case alphabet is standard braille.  Capitalization is indicated
by an additional dot on the lower left (usually called the dot-
7 position).  Greek characters, which are often used in
algebra, are indicated by an additional dot in the lower right
(usually called the dot-8 position).  For example, a capital l
is indicated by a dot 1,2,3,7 cell.  A lambda is indicated by
a dot 1,2,3,8 cell, and a capital lambda by a dot 1,2,3,7,8
cell.

Dots+ adopts the European computer braille standard to indicate
numbers which are part of equations.  In this standard, the
digits 1-9 are given by the braille cells for the letters a-i
with an added dot 6.  For example, 1 is the cell dots 1,6 and
seven is the cell dots 1,2,4,5,6.  The digit 0 cannot be
represented by a j with a dot 6, since this is the letter w.
Instead 0 is represented by a dot 3,4,6 cell.

Punctuation marks used in Dots+ equations are a combination of
graphics and braille.  the usual literary 4-dot dropped cells
are used with an open square directly above them.  For example,
a comma, usually represented by a dot 2 cell would be
represented in a Dots+ equation by a square with a dot just
below the left bottom corner of the square.

Not all mathematics can be represented with single braille cell
characters.  Bold, script, Gothic, Hebrew, etc. characters
require two cells.  These pose no particular difficulty but do
increase the size of equations that contain large numbers of
such symbols.

The complete single-cell Dots+ braille set is shown in flat
print on the following pages.  A braille manual that includes
the Braille set and definitions of most common math symbols
will be available soon.

*********************************************************

Sorry, but even the flat print version will not be available
until we have made the fonts.  The easiest word processor at
present for this kind of work is Word for Windows, and we are
frantically making font sets for that purpose.  We will use
Duxbury fonts for braille text and alter the existing Word
math fonts.  Our schedule is to have the fonts available by
January 1.  Wish me luck.

I designed Dots+ to meet two criteria.  First of all, I wanted
a math representation method for blind readers that preserved
the two-dimensional nature of math equations.   Secondly I
wanted a system that could be printed directly from the
computer file used to print a math/science book or document for
sighted people.  In principle that can be done with an
appropriate printer and a sophisticated driver that includes a
braille translator for the text and a special font set for
math.

before we begin developing such software drivers, we need more
thorough testing of Dots+.  I believe that a blind student who
knows Level 1 braille  can learn to read Dots+ equations after
reading my manual of about six braille pages and that he/she
will find Dots+ a lot more satisfactory than any pure braille
math document.  Now I want to find out whether this assessment
is correct by making Dots+ math books available to students.
Can I ask for your help?

The first task is to ask which books are most appropriate.  In
my opinion, one should be an introductory algebra text for high
school students.  Ideally I would like to have a book that is
widely used and is available in some electronic form already.
A popular introductory calculus book would be a good choice for
university level testing.  Do you have any suggestions, or can
you forward my letter to people with appropriate expertise?

I plan to use Level 1 braille for these books and to produce
them by a method that includes flat print so the books can be
read both by blind students and their sighted peers and
teachers.  Using level 1 will be a minor nuisance for good
braille readers but has a number of great advantages.
(1) It will make the books easier for students who are not good
braille readers.
(2) It will make the books accessible to many foreign students.
Level 1 braille is very similar for all languages, but level 2
braille is quite different, even in English-speaking countries.
Dots+ equations are completely international.
(3) It will simplify the process of including flat print.

I believe that the inclusion of flat print may be as
significant as using the Dots+ equation notation.  Each braille
cell will be overprinted with its flat print equivalent.
Except for a few control cells such as the capitalization sign,
the flat print will be perfectly standard, and a sighted person
should be able to read the document as easily as the blind
reader.  This practice should make the life of the sighted
teacher easier, allow easier interaction between blind students
and sighted peers, etc.

Once we have developed the font sets and have decided on which
book to produce, we are faced with the following tasks:
(1) The text must be keyed in, or if an electronic version is
available, the text should be edited to remove equations and
edit any imbedded math within textual material.  For example,
it is common in math books to see phrases like - "where theta
is an angle".  To minimize confusion and simplify production of
these first books, I propose to simply spell out the word theta
rather than imbed the Dots+ theta symbol within text.
(2) The text is then translated to level 1 braille.  After
translation, the text appears very much like the flat print on
the final braille document.
(3) The equations will be added to the translated file using
the Word math editor.
(4) Graphs, etc. must be scanned, simplified, and transferred
to the document.
(5) By using different Word Styles we can now print out two
versions on our laser printer.  One uses braille fonts and the
other uses regular fonts whose size is identical to those of
the braille fonts.

The result is two copies of each page, one of which is used to
make the braille pressing plates and the other to be printed on
pages before pressing.  If we have done a good job of font
design, the braille and print versions should align perfectly.
The printing and pressing will be done by the Braille Press of
Los Angeles.

If you want to volunteer or if you want more info, write John Gardner directly:
gardner@physics.orst.edu

Norman Coombs
Chair, Project EASI