[New Tool To Enable Blind to Read Maps On computer]

[Ann Parsons]

Hi all,

Well, shoot, I thought I had included the text I wanted.  That's
weird.  Hang on.  Will try again.

Ann P.



Wired News, 25 September 2002
 Wired News, 25 September 2002

NEW TOOL ALLOWS BLIND TO READ MAPS
Students in a software engineering class at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill--with help from the professor--have developed a
tool that blind and visually impaired people can use to read maps. The
Blind Audio Tactile Mapping System (BATS) uses a trackball to move a
cursor around on a map. As the cursor passes over different parts of
the map, the system plays audio information so the user can "read" the
map. For example, names of places on the map are pronounced by a voice
synthesizer. When the cursor goes over water, the user hears the sound
of crashing waves; over land, the user hears horses galloping. The
professor teaching the class in which the tool was developed said it
could become an open-source application, and it can be downloaded now
from the project's site (http://www.cs.unc.edu/Research/assist/bats/).
Wired News, 25 September 2002
http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,54916,00.html

-- 
			Ann K. Parsons  
email:  akp at eznet.net 			ICQ Number:  33006854
WEB SITE:  http://home.eznet.net/~akp
"All that is gold does not glitter.  Not all those who wander are lost."  JRRT