Hearing math function plots, color identification
with speech, and much more, all integrated in one
powerful PC camera based tool, and available free
of charge!

The vOICe Learning Edition software for Windows 95,
98 and NT now includes a built-in graphing calculator
for hearing mathematical function plots, with the
x-axis represented by time, and with the y-axis
represented by pitch. This basic way of displaying
functions is therefore similar to that used in for
instance John Gardner's TRIANGLE math program. Left
to right stereo panning is used to further enhance
perception of the position along the x-axis.

The audio function plot option is to be used in
combination with a screen reader such as Jaws for
Windows in order to access the regular Windows
dialog box controls.

The vOICe's audio function plot dialog allows you to
specify a symbolic function such as 5*sin(x) and set
x and y ranges for plotting, with or without hearing
the x and y axes.

Documentation about the supported mathematical functions
has today become available on the new web page

   http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Peter_Meijer/winmath.htm

and includes all the familiar operators such as addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division, as well as the
regular mathematical functions such as square root, power,
logarithm, exponential, sine, arcsine, hyperbolic sine and
so forth. Mathematical constants such as pi and e are
available predefined, and also a large number of important
physical constants are available predefined, such as the
speed of light, electron mass, Boltzmann factor, etcetera.

Individual points of the user-specified function can be
evaluated too and results accessed via your screen reader.

You can download the software with built-in graphing
calculator for Windows directly from the executable URL

   http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Peter_Meijer/voice.exe

or in case of connection problems you can get it from
the mirror site URL

   http://www.gironet.nl/home/meijerpb/voice.exe

Beware though, that you need a PC camera to run the software,
or else you will only get the spoken error message "I'm sorry,
The vOICe cannot find your webcam". More on the reasons for
that below. The required camera is just one of those cheap
cameras as used for videoconferencing, so perhaps you can ask
a sighted friend who has such a device to first demonstrate
the software to you: seeing/hearing is believing. Alternatively,
ask the salesperson in the computer shop to show it to you before
you buy a PC camera that is compatible with your PC and operating
system.

Installation of The vOICe Learning Edition is very easy, and
involves nothing but running the above executable. Once you
have the camera hooked up and run the software, the graphing
calculator dialog pops up when you press function key F8, and
it will by default automatically sound the example function
5*sin(x), sounding a bit like "eioeioeioeio", until you enter
another function such a 3 + 4 * x or whatever and adapt plotting
ranges, using a regular screen reader such as Jaws for Windows
to access the standard Windows controls.

Note that the camera enables you to also access printed graphs!

So you have the choice to either enter a function expression
and listen to the resulting math plot, or you can point the
camera to a graph printed in a book, on regular white paper,
and hear that graph. This will make much more educational
material accessible, and much more cheaply than via Braille
paper.

User requests for extensions will be considered for future
releases.

The main overview web pages for The vOICe Learning Edition
software are

   http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Peter_Meijer/winvoice.htm
   http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Peter_Meijer/winvoic2.htm

User feedback will be appreciated.

Best wishes,

Peter Meijer


E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Soundscapes from The vOICe - Seeing with your Ears!
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Peter_Meijer/