RoboBraille Towards an accessible and inclusive information society Dr Lars Ballieu Christensen RoboBraille Coordinator, Synscenter Refsnæs Managing Director, Sensus ApS November, 2007 Sponsored by:

Statistics – Western Europe ½-3% of the population are visually impaired (Western Europe) 2-4% of the population are dyslexic 36% of the population are poor readers (Denmark) Inaccessible text affects people – educationally, vocationally and socially Sources: European Blind Union, Danish Association for the Blind, Copenhagen University, OECD

Braille 101 Taktile medium –Written medium of the blind –Presented on Braille display or embossed on paper with Braille embosser (printer) –Big and slow Full text (Grade 1) and contracted text (Grade 2) –Language dependent 6-dot, 8-dot Braille –Two columns of either 3 or 4 dots –2 6 (64) or 2 8 (256) combinations

RoboBraille based Braille translation system developed by Synscenter Refsnæs and Sensus (OPP) Free for all non-commercial users RoboBraille can 1.Translate text into and from contracted Braille in 6-dot and 8-dot Braille 2.Translate text into synthetic speech (mp3 files) 3.Produce ”visual Braille”, e.g., artwork for the pharmaceutical sector

RoboBraille service User responses since August 2004: 200,000+; 500+ per day Significant media attention Growing user population –Hardcore Braille readers –Dyslexic and poor readers European ambitions and beyond –Universal problem –Global potential –We need critical mass

Why a Robot? Traditionally, updates are required… –Translation based on rules and exceptions –Software bugs are found and fixed Traditionally, Braille translation is not trivial –Requires a variety of skills (Braille, contraction, character sets, memory constrains, software installation Challenge made worse by decentralisation Consequently: Braille is under pressure and is loosing ground

Enters RoboBraille Most people can send an attachment by Electronic publications are widely available Tricky procedures can be automated It’s fast, accurate and robust It’s always up-to-date

Braille by File Attachment HTML (.htm,.html) XML (.xml) Text (.txt,.asc) Microsoft Word (.doc) Rich Text (.rtf) RoboBraille based on Sensus Braille translation engine Imports(e.g.,.asc) Converts(e.g.,.doc .txt) Translates Exports (e.g., BrailleLite, North American Computer Braille) Return result as attachment HTML (.htm,.html) Text (.txt) Less than a minute Send an

Speech by File Attachment HTML (.htm,.html) Text (.txt..asc) Microsoft Word (.doc) Rich Text (.rtf) RoboBraille translates using TTS engines Imports (e.g.,.asc) Converts (e.g.,.htm .txt) Translates text-to-speech (.wav) Compresses/Encodes.wav to.mp3 Resultatet vedhæftet Link til mp3 lyd file A minute or more Send an

Visual Braille by Send an or dedicated mail account Vedhæftet kontrolfil # Control file for Sensus # RoboBraille/PharmaBraille # t1=Betnovate med chinoform t2=1% + 30 mg/g t3=100 stk p=Betnovate med chinoform f=OctoBrailleMM l=da # RoboBraille based on Sensus Braille translation engine Translates text into Visual Braille Creates graphical artwork which can be used in design applications such as Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator or Quark Xpress. Return result as file attachment Less than a minute

eTEN RoboBraille Transnational validation of existing service in other EU countries 18 months duration, – Purpose: To validate the service in five other countries: –Cyprus, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, the UK. –Commercial, technical and cultural validation –Development of sustainable business plan Adaptation of RoboBraille to new languages –Braille and speech –Greek, English, Italian, Portuguese

User Responses Overall satis- faction Support level AccuracyEasy to under- stand Easy to useRelevant to user Quality of service All Speech, Cyprus Speech, Ireland Speech, Italy Speech, Portugal Speech, United Kingdom Braille, Cyprus Braille, Ireland Braille, Italy Braille, Portugal Braille, United Kingdom

Planned activities 1.Address issues of current users More countries, more languages More document formats (pdf, scanned documents) Formatting, Added user control Braille Math, Braille Music,.. 2.Target new user groups Dyslexic, poor readers, immigrants,... DAISY – Structured Talking Books 3.Target Institutional users Web service on-demand (alternative to ) RoboBraille Step-stone

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More information Lars Ballieu Christensen RoboBraille.org Sensus ApS Langesvej 34 DK-3400 Hillerød Tel: Svend Thougaard RoboBraille.org Synscenter Refsnæs Kystvejen 112 DK-4400 Kalundborg Tel: