So I really want to hear people experience about those. A lot of amazing inovation is happening in the space of refreshable multi line braille & tactile graphics displays.
We have the Monarch sitting in a premium place of its own.
https://www.aph.org/product/monarch/
But much more affordable (relatively), we have dotpad x, of which I have heard great description on Double Tap.
https://www.dotincorp.com/en/product/dotpadx
But, recently, I have discovered this new kid in the place, nobody else seem to mention it. Canute console Premium.
https://bristolbraille.org/about-canute-console-the-next-generation-in-braille/
For the latter, it doesn't pretend to be in the same tactile graphic display as the two others, rather that it can mimick it in a very useful way, if what I understand is correct. Plus, its pricing is very competitive, and it's open source!
I saw and Canadian Assistive Technology sells the Canute 360 at around $4500. Expensive, but why would I ever purchase a 40 cells braille display instead of a 9x40 cells one for more or less the same price?
I really can't understand why Monarch is so expensive while DotPad X, another real tactile graphic display, is at least 2 times less expensive, and has a real 20 cells row below the actual display (for those who know, this was the innitial description of the graphity plus before Humanware partners with APH instead).
For those who have any of these, I would love to know what is your experience with it from a screen reader support point of view. Does VoiceOver actually shows more than one line as its doc pretends it can?
I saw that video of the canute 360 on youtube and the insane sound it makes, but I think that was a prototype device. And Monarch is just slightly quiter than that. I know somebody who works for Humanware and has Monarch for home because of that, and will try this as soon as I can.
I hope this thread can become something important for that emerging space, or at least start a conversation.
PS: if this actually works, how useful can Freeform on mac become with any of these devices?
PS2: something some people may mix: a tactile graphic/multi line braille display, is not aimed, nor can, replicate pixel by pixel an actual monitor. You really have to understand this subtle point. I was making this confusion before so...
Comments
The DotPadX
THis is one intriguing device I wish to get one day. I listened to a podcast recently where the device seems to achieve a lot for what it is sold for.
Their website is terrible though
I respect Dotincorp a lot for what they do, but they could care more about their website about specialist products for blind / low vision. It's infinitely worse on mobile.
A serious question for you
I have a class where we're doing flowcharts and other network diagram, the regular folks with visio, me with UML (plantuml to be exact). In a couple of semesters I'll be doing user interface design web/mobile. So far the other blind student has done all these without any special accessory, the teacher does phisical mockups.
I wonder, if my grant permits, which should I buy, between a PIAF machine from Humanware (the UK equivalent might be fuse touch something) with enough swell papers, a tactile graphic embosser, or dotpad x / canute console premium? or, I really don't want, or Monarch?
I know that in a way or another in my career I'll need some effective way to have real visual/spacial perception.
Those who are in these things, are you able to compare?
I would also be doing relatively advanced math, calculus 3+, where something like dotpad x or monarch seem to suit more.
Note that I already have a braille doodle and this device should be on everyone's hand here especially given its price and what it allows in spite of being less expensive than an apple watch SE.
For pure maths, I would have thought about tactipad, but I'd rather need to either print computerized graphs or realtime refreshes.
Maybe try Desmos
Desmos have an accessible graphing calculator that conveys the generated graphs as sound. It doesn't work well for me since I have quite a hard time distinguishing between parabolic and hyperbolic shapes, or triangle from sine waves, to name a few examples, but your mileage may vary so maybe give it a try if you haven't already. You can use an expression like
y=sin(x)*xto produce a wavy graph whose waves increase in size as you get father away from the origin in order to gage how it sounds like.Math with multi-line
The Monarch has all of these capabilities around the calculator as far as I know. You can graph equations, useany math expression I can think of, but the real math is in the cost. At roughly 18K, it's not a small factor. However, it is the only device on the market I'm aware of that can produce both tactile graphics or text on demand. It's still a work in progress for sure, but there is a lot happening. If you are looking more toward graphics with more of a focus on the graphics, the DotPad X may be more your thing. I've not used this device, but early reports are that there are still issues with connecting to the platform they're using. They come from a credible user. The DotPad X has 20 cells of braille for text, but the primary use for it is graphics. There is also the Orbit Slate, which only focuses on text. There are still more devices coming down the pipeline like the Codex from NewHaptics. If I had a grant and had some time to make the decision, I'd be utilizing any time before the expiration of the grant to wait. I feel like this part of braille is at a critical juncture in terms of development, and the picture will look, and feel if you have a tactile graphics capable device, much different by March or April. In terms of screen reader support, that is still emerging. JAWS seems to be at the forefront of features, though NVDA does have support for the multi-line environment. iOS? It has a way to go. I'm not sure if I'm permitted to post that info since it's the beta of iOS where some support exists. I have no idea how things are going on Android, maybe someone else with more experience can comment on that. Also, speaking of Android, this is what the Monarch runs. I know of a couple of people who have installed the Google Play Store on their Monarch, but seem to get only 1-line support in many apps. Which makes sense, screen readers have to do quite a bit to render this content effectively as I understand it. I hope this info helps somehow!
Re: tactile graphics
I look forward to the day that this is common place. Sadly, I will be a wee old man by this point in time, I'm afraid.
@Scott Davert
I haven't tried monarch myself yet, but I know from a good source that this person didn't like the braille reading in terms of braille cells,because they squeezed both tactile graphics and cells, so we don't get our standard pizoelectric braille cells in terms of spacing and etc.
Dotpad X has the 20 *regular* braille cells for that reason to mitigate this discomfort, while the actual multiline display can show both graphics and braille.
I like this way, as in their own podcast they say think of the 20 cells line as the label you read while you brows the graph with your hands above. Or it is my understanding.
@João Santos
I know desmos, and to be honest I think I have this difficulty too, but aside experiments I haven't truly spent time learning it, so maybe it's a me skill issue problem.
A quick derail down memory lane
@TheBlindGuy07,
I doubt I will ever find it, and chances are it may not actually help you, but back in my college days I had a physical accessible graphing calculator. It was an interesting piece of hardware. I have moved quite a number of times since then, but if I ever come across it, I'll find a way to ship it to you.
On a sidenote, before obtaining said calculator, I used to work with a math tutor, and the way I had to learn graphing and coordinates, was with physical graphing paper, some silly putty and string.
Absolutely true story.
PS apologies for going off topic...
My math thoughts
@ TheBlindGuy07 How’s your spatial awareness and your ability to interpret graphs? Before investing in anything too expensive, I’d suggest learning these skills so you would benefit from a tactile or multi-line display. If you’re able, ask your institution to emboss graphs or tactile graphics. If you purchase an embosser, you definitely want some kind of ViewPlus embosser (the cheapest one is $1,500 (give or take), but of course it is limited in scope. Desmos is a steep learning curve, but it’s definitely worth your time to learn how to use it properly and efficiently. Thanks for your recommendation of the BrailleDoodle. I’ve been eying it for months but I’ve been holding off because I wasn’t sure if it would be useful for me. I own a sensational blackboard, but I don’t use it as much because I use too much paper.
PS If there’s a comment that you specifically want me to read, I’d suggest DM-ing me. I do not check AppleVis much these days.
Monarch
I have had a look at the monarch myself and to be honest it is quite Pricey
Speaking of the braille cells they do not use the piazo braille cells because they can get squashed or even it may get dirty if the kids ar: eating near it or what not.
This is what the humanware/APH person told me.
They did a session last year I at the vision australia office here in Brisbane.
It was a whole day session"