Important news for important consumers
Hey there! I'm Alix Shadonnay at the business desk and it's time for our weekly feature. Very important news for consumers with special needs.
Thank you for all of your feedback. We strive to keep consumers with special needs abreast of breaking news in the fields of business, medicine, and technology. We spend hours researching and gathering these articles and we hope that you find them interesting.
Table of contents
October 31 2007
October 31 2007
1 City tests new "Navigator 2" crossing technology
2 Braille Institute VP: Cameron may be a door opener for the future
3 Perception, not sight, important in life
4 Chances instead of charity in Bulgaria
5 Accessible Media Reaches New Heights: CNIB teams up with artists from MaRS to deliver accessible rich media interactive vision health information
6 Enhance the user experience with the Java Speech API
7 GhostReader text-to-speech adds iPhone, iPod export
8 New technology aids blind sailors
9 Design Student Creates Innovative Guiding Cane For Blind
2 Braille Institute VP: Cameron may be a door opener for the future
3 Perception, not sight, important in life
4 Chances instead of charity in Bulgaria
5 Accessible Media Reaches New Heights: CNIB teams up with artists from MaRS to deliver accessible rich media interactive vision health information
6 Enhance the user experience with the Java Speech API
7 GhostReader text-to-speech adds iPhone, iPod export
8 New technology aids blind sailors
9 Design Student Creates Innovative Guiding Cane For Blind
Surrey Leader, Canada
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
City tests new "Navigator 2" crossing technology
By Kevin Diakiw
An intersection in Newton chirps and the pedestrian-activated button vibrates when it's safe to walk, giving those with sight or hearing problems a safe signal to cross the street.
Known as the Navigator 2, the system is being hailed by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) as a revolutionary way to provide safe passage for the visually impaired.
In 2005, the makers of the Navigator 2 won the CNIB's Winston Gordon Award, which recognizes advances in technology that improves the quality of life for Canadians living with vision loss.
The Western Canadian distributor of the device is Newton's Astrographic Industries Ltd., which has sold about 300 to Burnaby, 50 to Delta, several to Langley and has provided a test model for Surrey at the Newton Wave Pool in the 13700 block of 72 Avenue.
While pleased that Surrey is exploring accessibility options, Rob Sleath, vice-president of the CNIB's B.C.-Yukon division, says this city needs to pick up the pace.
"Surrey has some (audible crossings), but they're way behind," Sleath said Monday. "The leading municipality in the Lower Mainland is Burnaby, no question."
Calls to the Surrey's engineering department were not returned by Leader press time Tuesday.
Coun. Bob Bose, who sits on the city's transportation committee, said he knew Surrey's road rehabilitation program was "woefully underfunded" but the accessibility issue is just recently coming to light.
"We certainly have a lot of catching up to do," Bose said.
As in most cities, the argument against wholesale installation is a matter of finances, Sleath said. It costs an extra $10,000 per crossing to install the Navigator.
Bose said the price sounds "very reasonable" when compared to other costs.
"The price of a full signalization of an interchange is probably $50,000 to $75,000," Bose said. "So this is not a huge add-on."
In either case, Sleath said he can't get bogged down in matters of cost.
"My job is to advocate for access, it's their job to control the budget," he said.
Sleath will be before Surrey council Monday afternoon (Oct. 1) to ask the city for a crossing at 188 Street and 68 Avenue on behalf of an East Clayton family.
Brenda and Gino Ciulla have been lobbying the city for a year for a safe crossing at the intersection, but so far, they've received no assurances.
Their 12-year-old son Anthony, who is legally blind, will need the crossing by next year when he goes to high school.
He's been told by vision experts not to attempt crossing the road without a proper light, or assistance from someone with good vision.
Sleath, who is totally blind, said he's been to the busy intersection, and even his trained seeing eye dog is reluctant to cross.
Charlotte Sun Herald, Florida USA
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Braille Institute VP: Cameron may be a door opener for the future
The news of an 18-month-old boy slowly regaining his eyesight has rippled across Southwest Florida.
"That makes four children that we know of that have received this treatment who can see now," stated Chuck Johnson, vice president of The Braille Institute of Florida. The institute works in Southwest Florida to increase Braille literacy and encourage children with blindness and other learning disabilities to express their talents. "If Cameron is coming through that same exchange, he may be a door opener for the future."
The legally blind Port Charlotte toddler was diagnosed with optic nerve hypoplasia, or a lack of development of the optic nerve, and traveled to China for stem-cell treatment the beginning of August.
"Hypoplasia comes from damage to the optic nerve," Johnson said. "It's not strong enough to carry the light. The only thing that can help your sight is to undergo this type of treatment. His optic nerve was asleep; now it's getting a new shock. This new shock is the stem cells that are from the umbilical cord."
According to Eric Stockley, of the Charlotte County Health Department, Cameron received a series of five injections of umbilical cord stem cells directly through his spine into the fluid that surrounds the brain. These are cells harvested from umbilical cord blood and not the embryonic cells that are at the center of controversy right now.
Each injection delivers more than 10 million stem cells in combination with additional neuron growth factor cells. These cells guide the stem cells to the damaged nerve cells, which in Cameron's case is the optic nerve. Once the stem cells have located the damaged nerve they begin to rejuvenate and replace and repair the damage.
After he returns to the United States, Cameron will continue to take treatments for another year or more. Also, he will have to undergo three months of intensive therapy to stimulate his sight. Also, for 12 months, Cameron must spend some time every day, five days a week, in a hyperbaric oxygen decompression unit. This is similar to what divers with the bends must undergo, but for Cameron, this therapy will encourage armature stem-cell growth.
What will this small success mean for future research?
"He (Cameron) is coming from scratch," Johnson said. "If he's getting stronger, it's because of these treatments. It's exciting news for us. We have a winning key on our hands, and the government is going to hear about it."
By DAWN KREBS
Oneonta Daily Star, NY, USA
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Perception, not sight, important in life
By Kate Pavlacka
Would you rather be deaf or blind?
That was a question posed on a website I was on recently.
Most of the people who commented had zero faith that life would be worth living if they had to lose one of the two senses. I found the comments about blindness so interesting, though.
I'm always curious what people think of the life that someone like me is living.
Many of the comments expressed some degree of fear about blindness and others were grumbling ignorantly about everything that blind people can't do.
Nobody had anything but negative things to say about blindness, and I felt a strange twinge of amusement mixed with disgust as I read through it all.
I know, I know. It's scary to think about going blind.
I was scared when I was younger. Blindness was inevitable for me, although the doctors couldn't even begin to predict when it would happen.
I've been totally blind now for 11 whole years. And, it's been more like 13 years since I had any real, meaningful, useful vision.
So, maybe I've just completely lost my ability to understand how scary the concept seems to a person who hasn't had a firsthand encounter with loss of his or her vision.
Let me just begin by saying that being blind doesn't mean that your life or your dignity is taken from you.
It doesn't mean that you will forever be dependent upon someone else to take care of you.
It doesn't mean giving up your dreams nor your favorite pastimes. And it certainly doesn't mean that you lose the meaning and essence of life itself.
I'm certain that some people in this world, after going blind, will never leave their houses out of fear.
Others will be told by their family, friends and community that they can't become anything.
Those people will find someone willing enough to attend to their every need for years and years to come. It's sad, but inevitably true for some people out there.
Personally, I cannot imagine a life like that. The day I left my mother's womb was the day I declared my independence.
At this particular moment in my life, though, I have mastered living independently.
I do not live with my parents anymore, which means I pay my own bills, clean my own apartment, cook my own food and do every other task any other "head of household" does.
It's not scary, it's not really difficult, it's just part of life and I do it all because it needs to be done.
There are inevitably going to be things I cannot do exactly like a sighted person does them. I know I can't drive a car, but that doesn't stop me from getting around town by foot or by bus.
I can't read my mail or sort my laundry exactly as a sighted person does it, but that's what a talking scanner and a talking color identifier are for.
I have a talking money identifier, talking kitchen scale, talking alarm clock, talking color identifier, talking computer, Braille labeler and Braille note taker for school.
Each one of those things are ways of making typical life more accessible to me.
Other than that, I learn how to know things by feel, sound, touch or smell. You'd be surprised at the actions or activities of daily life that seem like exclusively visual perceptions.
Think again, though. There's likely some way, even if you have to get really creative about it, that can adapt it all for a blind person.
Enough about technical stuff, though, what about seeing the pleasurable things in life?
I do miss some things, such as seeing the fireworks and the colorful sunsets.
I find, though, that on the Fourth of July, I don't sit around pining away about the fact I can't see the fireworks. I really enjoyed them when I could see them, but now that I can't see them, they've sort of slipped off to take a back seat to things that interest me even more nowadays.
Things such as the outdoors and nature still do interest me, but I don't get my kicks out of watching a sunrise or a sunset. Instead, I find my interests have moved on to learning more about the birds I hear, as well as digging around in the dirt. You'd think I was a little kid again or something!
So, whether you're sighted or blind, it doesn't much matter, life is still a rich thing to experience either way. I might add, also, that experiences have nothing to do with 20/20 vision. They aren't seen, they are perceived. And, thankfully, perception is a universal kind of "vision." It requires nothing more than your ability to be living, breathing and have neural messages capable of running from body to brain and back.
Kate Pavlacka, a graduate of the State University College at Oneonta, has been totally blind for 11 years.
Sofia Echo, Bulgaria
Monday, September 17, 2007
Chances instead of charity in Bulgaria
By Boriana Parvanova
Habitat for Humanity Sofia
This is a story of two sight-impared individuals, their daughters, one renovation and a rare, unbridled enthusiasm for life, despite a series of difficult choices and challenges.
This is a story of two sight-impared individuals, their daughters, one renovation and a rare, unbridled enthusiasm for life, despite a series of difficult choices and challenges.
I first met the Yanevi family when they applied to the home renovation programme of my organisation, Habitat for Humanity Bulgaria, or Podslon za Chovechestvoto Foundation, which provides support to improve the living conditions of financially challenged families. Beneficiaries then pay back this interest-free loan in small installments over three to five years.
In 2007, Habitat, with an emphasis on energy efficiency, improved homes by altering the woodwork, improving wall insulation and enclosing terraces.
This family's story
Ivan and Roumyana met when attending one of the very few secondary schools for sight-disabled children in Bulgaria, after, at the age of six, Ivan lost his sight through a sporting accident and an unforgivable medical mistake. In addition to quality education, the school bestowed another dear present - his wife Roumyana. They couldn't wait for graduation and were married at 17. She comes from Koinare and he is from Pernik, but in search of opportunity, their joint destiny blew them into Sofia. When you witness their tenderness it is difficult to believe they've been together for 15 years.
When we visited the Sofia borough of Drouzhba for the first home-interview, Roumyana told me about their struggle to receive social housing. It took several years, many administrative offices and a lot of door-knocking to overcome the cumbersome bureaucratic procedure. They were happy to finally be placed, but a change in location was tough - especially for Ivan, who is 100 per cent sight impaired.
For him, moving meant a long process of learning a new commute by heart through recognising the curves in the pavement, memorising the sound of a particular traffic light and remembering where to cross the street. For nine months he needed assistance for every home departure. I had never imagined how only a poorly parked car could create unnecessary obstacles for sight-impared individuals.
When they moved in two years ago, the apartment was in extremely bad shape, so they began improving it little by little. Just when they were wondering how to finance the next renovation, a friend of theirs told them about Habitat for Humanity.
With Habitat's help, they decided to increase energy efficiency by improving the insulation on their terraces. The ugly self-made iron window frames, which let cold air and humidity inside, were removed. Now the balconies have become a shiny living space - with smooth white PVC window frames and colourful wall paper.
It would have been hard to repay an ordinary bank loan with Ivan's salary at the Ministry of Education and with Roumyana's student allowance. They felt fortunate to receive Habitat's help.
"We might have been able to do it ourselves, but not for a few years. And who knows whether we could have saved enough money for a house renovation," said Roumyana. "Habitat also helped us co-ordinate with a qualified and affordable construction company. They did a great job and were a vast improvement from our previous vendor."
Cosy and comfortable in their drawing room, I was curious to learn more about their life. Maybe I was asking too many questions but they didn't mind. Ivan became excited when the conversation turned to one of his favourite topics - the goal ball club. This game is specially designed for sight-impared people and Ivan is proud president of the Sofia chapter. He divides time between his biggest interests - family, sport and history.
"Goal ball is the number one for me," says Ivan, immediately adding "of course only after my family".
How they became
With a dream to become a lawyer, Ivan applied to law school with excellent marks. However, without connections, he was not accepted. Disappointed but determined, he joined the history department, where he eventually earned his PhD in history sciences and is now passionate about this subject. He has more than 500 books, which he scans in order to read.
Roumyana graduated with a degree in economics, and is now continuing her education, but along a different path: she is following a dream to study pedagogy for sight-impared people. The rest of her time is devoted to their family, and especially to their two daughters Anita and Viktoria. She seems like a wonderful and affectionate mother, demanding respect, but with a soft touch. A caring housewife, she is thankful for the latest home improvement.
The new window frames not only keep out the weather, but also isolate from noise. She jokes that now they hear the neighbours through the walls rather than through the windows.
When I visited a second time, I saw that Habitat's renovations were not the only new addition to their home. A furry friend met me at the door: Ivan has a new companion - a seeing-eye dog, Vita. Although a bit perplexed about how to behave with her, he is positive she will help him gain more independance and security on the street.
When talking about their life, Roumyana insists that their sight disability has nothing to do with their capacity for success and happiness. "What you want to achieve in life - it's a question of character," she says.
Ivan explained his understanding for life this way: "Don't give a person a fish, but teach him how to catch one himself." They don't like asking for charity but would like to be given chances. I was pleased to hear that, because Habitat's principle, to provide a hand up instead of a handout, stems from the same idea.
As I was leaving, Roumyana asked me not to describe them as heroes or to exaggerate their story. I didn't exaggerate but I cannot help thinking about them as extra-ordinary people. Not just because they are a sight-impared couple managing to live a normal life, but because of the rare love and optimism that seems to surround them like an aura. Not many families can say the same.
Boriana Parvanova is project co-ordinator for Habitat for Humanity Sofia. For more information about the organisation, go to www.habitat-sofia.org.
Habitat for Humanity Sofia or Podslon za Chovechestvoto Foundation, founded in 2001, is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to alleviate housing problems of economically disadvantaged families through volunteer-powered construction and renovation. By providing interest-free loans, Habitat Sofia provides a hand up instead of a hand-out. Since 2001, more than 20 families have benefited from its programmes, among them single mothers, sight-impared people and pensioners. In 2005, Habitat Sofia completed its first project, an eight-family home in the Slatina borough. Since then, it has focused on renovation and repair. It is now developing new projects to help us achieve a greater scope of influence.
At an international level, Habitat for Humanity Sofia is part of Habitat for Humanity International, an organisation that, through the help of former presidents, celebrities, professional athletes and community volunteers, has provided hundreds of thousands of homes to needy people all over the world.
Habitat for Humanity Sofia operates its programmes with the help of donations and grants. If you wish to donate:
Podslon za Chovechestvoto Foundation, Unicredit Bulbank Sofia, Hemus
SWIFT code:
BIC UNCRB GSF,
USD BG20 UNCR 9660 1166 85 2702
BGN BG78 UNCR 9660 1066 85 2709
SWIFT code:
BIC UNCRB GSF,
USD BG20 UNCR 9660 1166 85 2702
BGN BG78 UNCR 9660 1066 85 2709
Canada NewsWire
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Accessible Media Reaches New Heights: CNIB teams up with artists from MaRS to deliver accessible rich media interactive vision health information
TORONTO, Sept. 26 /CNW/ - September 23 to 29 is International AMD
(age-related macular degeneration) Week and CNIB has teamed up with medical
artists from the MaRS Discovery District to deliver a health information
website like no other. The AMD Challenge uses plain language and engaging
animations to explain AMD, the leading cause of vision loss among older
Canadians.
The AMD Challenge is part of CNIB's overall aim to increase public
awareness of vision health issues and promote eye health. As an interactive
online tool, the site is geared toward the increasing number of Canadians who
turn to the Internet for health information.
"Although we reach the public through many different channels, we're very
much aware of the growing importance of eHealth resources. The AMD Challenge
is one strong example of our commitment to making vision health resources
available to the greatest number of Canadians," says Lesley Wilmot, Director,
Communications, CNIB.
The AMD Challenge, sponsored by AMD Alliance International, stands apart
from most other online eHealth websites, by using easy to understand language
and complementary pictures to quickly convey key concepts.
"Online descriptions of common eye conditions often use complex language
and highly detailed medical images. With the use of plain language and
friendly animations, the site presents health information in a way that is
engaging and interesting to a wider audience," says Don Lawrence, Web Manager,
CNIB.
The AMD Challenge was designed and illustrated in cartoon style by
medical artists Sonya Amin, Jason Sharpe and Eddy Xuan, founders of AXS
Biomedical Animation Studio, which creates innovative visual communications
solutions for the health sciences industry.
"People respond well to cartoons," says Amin. "Drawing anatomy in a
cartoon style reduces the 'yuck factor' and makes the subjects more accessible
to the average person."
The AMD Challenge is also fully compatible with special software
applications called "screen readers" which read aloud the content displayed on
a computer screen. It was designed so that a screen reader can "speak" the
text and the special embedded descriptions for each picture and animation.
Navigation instructions are also fed to the screen reader, allowing users to
move back and forth through the pages of the site and to highlight text and
pictures of interest.
Embedding this degree of accessible functionality is no small feat.
Technology is still catching up to the need for accessible rich media (e.g.
animations) on the Internet; much online content either cannot be read or is
misinterpreted by screen reader software. AXS Studio worked closely with CNIB
developers to overcome technical hurdles and ensure The AMD Challenge would be
accessible to all users.
The AMD Challenge can be accessed in a web browser at the following
address:
(age-related macular degeneration) Week and CNIB has teamed up with medical
artists from the MaRS Discovery District to deliver a health information
website like no other. The AMD Challenge uses plain language and engaging
animations to explain AMD, the leading cause of vision loss among older
Canadians.
The AMD Challenge is part of CNIB's overall aim to increase public
awareness of vision health issues and promote eye health. As an interactive
online tool, the site is geared toward the increasing number of Canadians who
turn to the Internet for health information.
"Although we reach the public through many different channels, we're very
much aware of the growing importance of eHealth resources. The AMD Challenge
is one strong example of our commitment to making vision health resources
available to the greatest number of Canadians," says Lesley Wilmot, Director,
Communications, CNIB.
The AMD Challenge, sponsored by AMD Alliance International, stands apart
from most other online eHealth websites, by using easy to understand language
and complementary pictures to quickly convey key concepts.
"Online descriptions of common eye conditions often use complex language
and highly detailed medical images. With the use of plain language and
friendly animations, the site presents health information in a way that is
engaging and interesting to a wider audience," says Don Lawrence, Web Manager,
CNIB.
The AMD Challenge was designed and illustrated in cartoon style by
medical artists Sonya Amin, Jason Sharpe and Eddy Xuan, founders of AXS
Biomedical Animation Studio, which creates innovative visual communications
solutions for the health sciences industry.
"People respond well to cartoons," says Amin. "Drawing anatomy in a
cartoon style reduces the 'yuck factor' and makes the subjects more accessible
to the average person."
The AMD Challenge is also fully compatible with special software
applications called "screen readers" which read aloud the content displayed on
a computer screen. It was designed so that a screen reader can "speak" the
text and the special embedded descriptions for each picture and animation.
Navigation instructions are also fed to the screen reader, allowing users to
move back and forth through the pages of the site and to highlight text and
pictures of interest.
Embedding this degree of accessible functionality is no small feat.
Technology is still catching up to the need for accessible rich media (e.g.
animations) on the Internet; much online content either cannot be read or is
misinterpreted by screen reader software. AXS Studio worked closely with CNIB
developers to overcome technical hurdles and ensure The AMD Challenge would be
accessible to all users.
The AMD Challenge can be accessed in a web browser at the following
address:
About CNIB
----------
CNIB is a nationwide, community-based, registered charity committed to
research, public education and vision health for all Canadians. CNIB provides
the services and support necessary for people to enjoy a good quality of life
while living with vision loss. To learn more, visit www.cnib.ca or call
1-800-563-2642.
----------
CNIB is a nationwide, community-based, registered charity committed to
research, public education and vision health for all Canadians. CNIB provides
the services and support necessary for people to enjoy a good quality of life
while living with vision loss. To learn more, visit www.cnib.ca or call
1-800-563-2642.
About AXS Studio
----------------
AXS Biomedical Animation Studio communicates concepts in science and
medicine through animation and illustration. The studio is located in the MaRS
Discovery District in Toronto www.marsdd.com.
----------------
AXS Biomedical Animation Studio communicates concepts in science and
medicine through animation and illustration. The studio is located in the MaRS
Discovery District in Toronto www.marsdd.com.
For further information: Jessica Parrales, Coordinator, Communications,
CNIB, Tel: (416) 486-2500 x7570, Email: jessica.parrales@cnib.ca; Jason
Sharpe, Creative Director, AXS Studio, Tel: (416) 673-6698, Email:
jason.sharpe@axs3d.com
CNIB, Tel: (416) 486-2500 x7570, Email: jessica.parrales@cnib.ca; Jason
Sharpe, Creative Director, AXS Studio, Tel: (416) 673-6698, Email:
jason.sharpe@axs3d.com
CANADIAN NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR THE BLIND (CNIB)
TechRepublic.com
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Enhance the user experience with the Java Speech API
By Peter Mikhalenko
The Java Speech API allows you to incorporate speech technology into user interfaces for your applets and applications based on Java technology. It also specifies a cross-platform interface to support command and control recognizers, dictation systems, and speech synthesizers. This article delves into the specifics of the Java Speech API and explains how you can use it to improve the user experience.
What's behind the Java Speech API
Two core speech technologies are supported through the Java Speech API: speech synthesis and speech recognition.
Speech synthesis
Speech synthesis provides the reverse process of producing synthetic speech from text generated by an application, an applet, or a user. It is often referred to as text-to-speech technology.
The major steps in producing speech from text are as follows:
Structure analysis: Processes the input text to determine where paragraphs, sentences, and other structures start and end. For most languages, punctuation and formatting data are used in this stage.
Text pre-processing: Analyzes the input text for special constructs of the language. In English, special treatment is required for abbreviations, acronyms, dates, times, numbers, currency amounts, e-mail addresses, and many other forms. Other languages need special processing for these forms, and most languages have other specialized requirements.
The result of these first two steps is a spoken form of the written text. Here are examples of the differences between written and spoken text:
Text pre-processing: Analyzes the input text for special constructs of the language. In English, special treatment is required for abbreviations, acronyms, dates, times, numbers, currency amounts, e-mail addresses, and many other forms. Other languages need special processing for these forms, and most languages have other specialized requirements.
The result of these first two steps is a spoken form of the written text. Here are examples of the differences between written and spoken text:
St. Mathews hospital is on Main St.
-> "Saint Mathews hospital is on Main street"
Add $20 to account 55374.
-> "Add twenty dollars to account five five, three seven four."The remaining steps convert the spoken text to speech:
-> "Saint Mathews hospital is on Main street"
Add $20 to account 55374.
-> "Add twenty dollars to account five five, three seven four."The remaining steps convert the spoken text to speech:
Text-to-phoneme conversion: Converts each word to phonemes. A phoneme is a basic unit of sound in a language.
Prosody analysis: Processes the sentence structure, words, and phonemes to determine the appropriate prosody for the sentence.
Waveform production: Uses the phonemes and prosody information to produce the audio waveform for each sentence.
Speech synthesizers can make errors in any of the processing steps described above. Human ears are well-tuned to detecting these errors, but careful work by developers can minimize errors and improve the speech output quality. The Java Speech API and the Java Speech API Markup Language (JSML) provide many ways for you to improve the output quality of a speech synthesizer.
Speech recognition
Speech recognition provides computers with the ability to listen to spoken language and determine what has been said. In other words, it processes audio input containing speech by converting it to text.
The major steps of a typical speech recognizer are as follows:
Grammar design: Defines the words that may be spoken by a user and the patterns in which they may be spoken.
Signal processing: Analyzes the spectrum (i.e., the frequency) characteristics of the incoming audio.
Phoneme recognition: Compares the spectrum patterns to the patterns of the phonemes of the language being recognized.
Word recognition: Compares the sequence of likely phonemes against the words and patterns of words specified by the active grammars.
Result generation: Provides the application with information about the words the recognizer has detected in the incoming audio.
A grammar is an object in the Java Speech API that indicates what words a user is expected to say and in what patterns those words may occur. Grammars are important to speech recognizers because they constrain the recognition process. These constraints make recognition faster and more accurate because the recognizer does not have to check for bizarre sentences.
Signal processing: Analyzes the spectrum (i.e., the frequency) characteristics of the incoming audio.
Phoneme recognition: Compares the spectrum patterns to the patterns of the phonemes of the language being recognized.
Word recognition: Compares the sequence of likely phonemes against the words and patterns of words specified by the active grammars.
Result generation: Provides the application with information about the words the recognizer has detected in the incoming audio.
A grammar is an object in the Java Speech API that indicates what words a user is expected to say and in what patterns those words may occur. Grammars are important to speech recognizers because they constrain the recognition process. These constraints make recognition faster and more accurate because the recognizer does not have to check for bizarre sentences.
The Java Speech API supports two basic grammar types: rule grammars and dictation grammars. These types differ in various ways, including how applications set up the grammars; the types of sentences they allow; how results are provided; the amount of computational resources required; and how they are used in application design.
The Java Speech API's classes and interfacesThe different classes and interfaces that form the Java Speech API are grouped into the following three packages:
javax.speech: Contains classes and interfaces for a generic speech engine.
javax.speech.synthesis: Contains classes and interfaces for speech synthesis.
javax.speech.recognition: Contains classes and interfaces for speech recognition.
javax.speech.synthesis: Contains classes and interfaces for speech synthesis.
javax.speech.recognition: Contains classes and interfaces for speech recognition.
The Central class is like a factory class that all Java Speech API applications use. It provides static methods to enable the access of speech synthesis and speech recognition engines. The Engine interface encapsulates the generic operations that a Java Speech API-compliant speech engine should provide for speech applications.
Speech applications can primarily use methods to perform actions such as retrieving the properties and state of the speech engine and allocating and deallocating resources for a speech engine. In addition, the Engine interface exposes mechanisms to pause and resume the audio stream generated or processed by the speech engine. The Engine interface is subclassed by the Synthesizer and Recognizer interfaces, which define additional speech synthesis and speech recognition functionality. The Synthesizer interface encapsulates the operations that a Java Speech API-compliant speech synthesis engine should provide for speech applications.
The Java Speech API is based on the event-handling model of AWT components. Events generated by the speech engine can be identified and handled as required. There are two ways to handle speech engine events: through the EngineListener interface or through the EngineAdapter class.
You can get more information about any classes and interfaces in the Java Speech API JavaDocs.
Using the Java Speech API
To run a sample program, you will need a Java implementation that supports the Java Speech API. This example uses CloudGarden's TalkingJava SDK (although you could use FreeTTS as a free alternative).
You need two files for developing your speech applications: cgjsapi.jar and cgjsapi.dll. Before you start working with the samples, make sure that the cgjsapi.dll file is available in your PATH and that the cgjsapi.jar file is available in your CLASSPATH.
package jsapi_demo;
import javax.speech.*;
import javax.speech.synthesis.*;
import java.util.*;
import javax.speech.synthesis.*;
import java.util.*;
public class WhatTimeIsIt {
public static void main(String[] args) {
try {
Calendar calendar = new GregorianCalendar();
String sayTime = "Its " +
calendar.get(Calendar.HOUR) + " " +
calendar.get(Calendar.MINUTE) + " " +
(calendar.get(Calendar.AM_PM)== 0 ? "AM" : "PM");
Synthesizer synth = Central.createSynthesizer(null);
synth.allocate();
synth.resume();
synth.speakPlainText(sayTime,null);
synth.waitEngineState(Synthesizer.QUEUE_EMPTY);
synth.deallocate();
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}This simple program demonstrates the working of the Java Speech API by reading out the system time.
try {
Calendar calendar = new GregorianCalendar();
String sayTime = "Its " +
calendar.get(Calendar.HOUR) + " " +
calendar.get(Calendar.MINUTE) + " " +
(calendar.get(Calendar.AM_PM)== 0 ? "AM" : "PM");
Synthesizer synth = Central.createSynthesizer(null);
synth.allocate();
synth.resume();
synth.speakPlainText(sayTime,null);
synth.waitEngineState(Synthesizer.QUEUE_EMPTY);
synth.deallocate();
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}This simple program demonstrates the working of the Java Speech API by reading out the system time.
Implementations
The Java Speech API is a freely available specification. Here are three implementations:
FreeTTS: This open-source speech synthesizer is written entirely in Java. It requires JDK 1.4.
http://freetts.sourceforge.net/docs/index.php
http://freetts.sourceforge.net/docs/index.php
IBM Speech for Java: It only supports speech recognition, and it is a pretty old engine.
http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/speech
http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/speech
Festival: This general multilingual speech synthesis system was developed by the Centre for Speech Technology Research at the University of Edinburgh. It offers a full text-to-speech system with various APIs, as well an environment for research and development of speech synthesis techniques.
http://www.cstr.ed.ac.uk/projects/festival/
http://www.cstr.ed.ac.uk/projects/festival/
Get programming tips
For more information about the capabilities of the Java Speech API and to get code samples, check out the Java Speech API Programmer's Guide.
http://java.sun.com/products/java-media/speech/forDevelopers/jsapi-guide/
http://java.sun.com/products/java-media/speech/forDevelopers/jsapi-guide/
Peter V. Mikhalenko is a Sun certified professional who works for Deutsche Bank as a business consultant.
Macworld.com
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
GhostReader text-to-speech adds iPhone, iPod export
By Peter Cohen
ConvenienceWare and AssistiveWare on Tuesday released GhostReader (formerly TextParrot) 1.1.1, an update to their text to speech software for Mac OS X. A free update for registered users, GhostReader costs $39.95 to register.
GhostReader lets you listen to your documents in naturally sounding voices in a language of your choice. You can use it to create audiobooks, speak selected text in a reader window, or use it with Safari by just pointing your cursor at the text. The software supports a variety of languages, including U.K. and U.S. English, French, German, Italian, Icelandic, Spanish and much more.
New to the 1.1.1 release is the ability to export audiobooks to a format that's ready for transferring to an iPhone or iPod using iTunes 7's AAC format. It's also been updated for Apple's forthcoming Mac OS X v10.5 "Leopard" release, improves PDF export, boost performance when working with long texts and makes other changes.
A Universal binary, GhostReader requires Mac OS X v10.4 or later.
This is Cornwall (UK)
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
New technology aids blind sailors
A cornish marine technology company has developed a guidance system for blind sailors which it believes is a world first.Fowey-based Triskel Marine Ltd's (TML) 'Sailguide' allows visually impaired sailors to navigate a boat with no external human help.
The system was trialled last week by blind and deaf sailor Tony Lawton with great success.
TML's managing director Ken Wittamore said: "We have been working on the system for the best part of a year and the success with Tony is a major milestone.
"Helping Tony to sail independently, despite the difficulties he faces, has probably been the most challenging job we have ever taken on.
"His perpetual optimism and enthusiasm have helped us enormously."
For the trial Tony navigated a specially equipped cruising boat so that his performance could be closely monitored. The next step will be to fit the system to Tony's Challenger dinghy.
The GPS-based technology is designed to allow sailors to steer around a series of special buoys using information provided by a computer-generated voice.
Once activated the buoy transmits its position and identity to a receiver in the boat which then calculates how far away it is and in what direction.
This is converted into a voice prompt which gives the distance and bearing to the mark. The skipper then makes navigational decisions based on information from the computer.
Tony Lawton received his voice guidance through a hearing loop. He said: "This is the first time since becoming blind that I have been able to sail a boat with no external assistance.
"It was a wonderful emotional moment when I first steered the boat around the mark and all of the crew cheered and clapped.
"I thought I would never be able to sail independently again, but using the Sailguide I hope to be racing independently again next season."
The hardware for Sailguide was designed by Omicron, which is based near Helston.
Ken Wittamore said: "The Sailguide technology has a number of other marine applications which we are already developing.
"As far as we are aware the system is a world first - other people have produced speaking compasses, but nobody has produced anything like this.
"The system's computerised voice was recorded by my daughter Jenny.
"We were tempted to call it the JenJen, as a marine equivalent of the TomTom, but we decided that might be a bit obtuse!"
Wired.com News
Monday, September 24, 2007
Design Student Creates Innovative Guiding Cane For Blind
By Jose Fermoso
September 24, 2007 | 5:38:30 PM
Are seeing eye dogs about to be replaced by the inventive new design of a student from Germany? If the Internation Design Excellence Awards are any indication of the aid-gadget future, this might prove to be true, but not without some howling from our furry friends. Sebastian Ritzler, of the Muthesius Academy of Art and Design in Kiel, Germany, created an interactive guiding system for the blind called Mygo that comes in the form of a cool, rolling white cane. Some would go so far as to call the design 'flashy pimptastic.'
The cane is supposed to be tough, height-adjustable for men and women, and waterproof. But here's the best part: It includes a system with a smart sensor and camera combo that can measure the ground area accurately in real time and pushes auditory feedback to a headset. In addition, the mini wheel at the tip of the cane has a hub motor that provides intuitive feedback through the grip, doubling as a steering engine that can last about 6 hours on a lithium-ion battery.
All this would give people an excellent maneuvering system, especially during difficult weather. So this one could replace the regular old cane that a few blind people use, but can it move into the seeing eye canine's territory? There are many reasons why the cane couldn't fully replace the dogs but there's a really important one: Mainly, the cane won't hug you back or lick you silly. The positive social affect of a kind service dog is likely way too important in the lives of many in the blind community.
While the device has not yet gone to production, the creator is looking at an affordable option - one estimate thrown around is about 150 Euros (about $200). The IDEA site lists a super -cheap option of about 15 Euros, but for the technology this item's going to be packing, that's probably a bit unrealistic.
LINK: Here's the item page from the Business Week article detailing the Mygo.
http://www.idsa.org/IDEA2007/gallery/award_details.asp?id=66&cat=12
http://www.idsa.org/IDEA2007/gallery/award_details.asp?id=66&cat=12
(Source)
At the business desk, I'm Alix Shadonnay wishing you a pleasant day.
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