as is known.* With a sound switch appropriately placed near a telephone receiver, Morse could be sent a deaf-blind person at his home via telephone. At least the beginnings of coded signalling are now in view: Clients at the National Center distinguish the long slow ring for the hourly rest break from the rapid short rings of a fire drill. Also, visitors to the earlier-mentioned deafblind apartment dweller would identify themselves at the door by individual codes two shorts, one long, etc. At the Sensory Aids Center an all-solid state code keyer has been breadboarded with which, by pressing a button, various ten-element sequences of dots and dashes can be initiated. How useful such techniques might ultimately be is not known. To view the matter conservatively, a Morse signalling system might find little usefulness to most deaf-blind persons; indeed, on the basis of conversations with rehabilitation workers, there seem not to be many deaf-blind people who have learned Morse. On the other hand, the personal communication barrier is the dominant impact on this tragic double handicap, and anything that might help penetrate the barrier must have potential value. PATHSOUNDERS 30 Approximately three years ago five Pathsounders (ultrasonic mobility aids) were purchased under Contracts SAV 1057-67 et al., precedessors to the current SRS contracts at SAEDC. The Pathsounder is shown in Figure 14. A follow-on effort has continued in the evaluation of these devices; this has involved a minimal expenditure, simply that needed for maintenance, responding to inquiries, and occasional acts of assistance to users and their instructors. The follow-on seems to have been highly worthwile; though it may have required only a tiny fraction of the SAEDC effort. The following is a brief summary of the status of each Pathsounder, with mention of the school or agency concerned. The first unit is in use by a young woman blinded (totally) and deafened (partially) by a recent attack of meningitis. The rehabilitation counsellor, in overseeing cane-travel instruction for this client, requested a Pathsounder because of the difficulty she was having in bumping into above-the-waist objects and because of her inability to localize objects by sound. She reported the instrument most helpful and her lessons ended, she now retains it on long term loan. (Vision Center, Columbus, Ohio) The second unit has been used in an effort to effect some limited travel independence for a fifteen-year-old boy blind from birth and confined to a wheelchair by cerebral palsy. The Pathsounder and appropriate training have got him "on his feet" to a modest extent, and his instructor reports encouragement. (Ohio State School for the Blind, Columbus, Ohio) The third Pathsounder is in use by a blind Brooklyn resident, a cane-traveler who, according to the agency concerned, was trained with it, found it helpful in walking to work in a city environment, was allowed to retain it, and continues to use it. (The Jewish Guild for the Blind, New York, New York) The fourth Pathsounder is in use by a twenty-one-year-old girl totally blind from birth, and confined to a wheelchair by cerebral palsy. She graduated from a residential school where she was given Pathsounder training; because of her travel progress the staff elected to have her retain an instrument, and she is now reported to be traveling independently and effectivelly in her new environment. (The Oak Hill School, Hartford, Conn.) The fifth Pathsounder has been on loan to a college for use of teachers-intraining in its Orientation and Mobility Program. A rather thorough evaluation of the device's effectiveness was performed by several students, in particular, the effectiveness in easing a cane-traveler's course through fairly dense pedestrian traffic in downtown city areas. The results were favorable, and in fact, most encouraging; their publication by the investigators is anticipated. (University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Penna.) Thus, all five SRS-owned Pathsounders continue to be beneficially employed, and the productive liaison between this Center and the schools and agencies involved should be evident. Personnel The Staff of the SAEDC during this grant included Vito A. Proscia, Research Associate and Director of the Center (to April 1972); George F. Dalrymple, *It is understood that experimental systems directed toward this end do exist, notably one proposed by Bell Telephone Company. [Footnotes appear on p. 47] DSR Staff Member and Acting Director; Nancy Brower, secretary (to August 1970); Evelyn Welch, secretary (August 1970-June 1972); Susan Sokalner, secretary (since July 1972); Norman L. J. Berube, Senior Technician. Additional work was done for the Center by Lindsay Russell, consulting Electrical Engineer, and Murry Burnstine, consulting Mechanical Engineer. FOOTNOTES 1 Mann, R. W., “Enhancing the Availability of Braille," Proceedings of the International Congress on Technology and Blindness, American Foundation for the Blind, New York, June 1962, pp. 409-426. Dupress, J. K., Baumann, D. M. B., and Mann, R. W., Accessible as Print, M.I.T. Report No. DSR 70249, June 1968. Towards Making Braille as 3 Evaluation Report on Work in Progress on Sensory Aids and Prosthetics, Engineering Projects Laboratory Report 8768-3, M.I.T., Cambridge, Mass., October 1962. Evaluation Report on Work in Progress on Sensory Aids and Prosthetics, Engineering Projects Laboratory Report 9211-2, M.I.T., Cambridge, Mass., April 1964. 5 Final Report to Vocational Rehabilitation Administration, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Contract SAV-10 36-65, Sensory Aids Evaluation and Development Center, M.I.T., Cambridge, Mass., October 1965. Final Report to Vocational Rehabilitation Administration, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Contract SAV-1045-66, Sensory Aids Evaluation and Development Center, M.I.T., Cambridge, Mass., April 1967. 7 Annual Report to Social Rehabilitation Administration, Department of Health, Educacation, and Welfare, Contract SAV-1045-66, Sensory Aids Evaluation and Development Center, M.I.T., Cambridge, Mass., April 1967. Final Report to Social Rehabilitation Administration, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Contract SAV-1057-67, Sensory Aids Evaluation and Development Center, M.I.T., Cambridge, Mass., April 1969. Final Report to Social Rehabilitation Administration, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Contract SRS-69-41, Sensory Aids Evaluation and Development Center, M.I.T., Cambridge, Mass., December 1970. 10 "Development of a High-Speed Brailler System for More Rapid and Extensive Production of Informational Material for the Blind," Final Report to the John A. Hartford Foundation, Inc., SAEDC, M.I.T., Cambridge, Mass., Sept. 29, 1970. 11 Lichtman, S. A., The Design of a High-Speed Slave Brailler for a Braille Converter Device. Thesis (S.B.), Dept. of Mech. Engr., Mass. Inst. of Tech., May 1961. 12 Eglinton, D. G., Preliminary Design of the Mechanical to Electrical Coding Conversion for a Typewriter to Braille Converter. Thesis (S.B.), Dept. of Mech. Engr., Mass. Inst. of Tech., May 1961. 13 Kennedy, D. W., A High-Speed Braille Embossing System-3 Volumes. Thesis (S.M.), Dept. of Mech. Engr., Mass. Inst. of Tech., May 1963. 14 Maskrey, R. H., Design and Construction of a Braille Keyboard for the High-Speed Electric Brailler. Thesis (S.B.), Dept. of Mech. Engr., Mass. Inst. of Tech., May 1963. 15 Armstrong, A. E., A Braille Telecommunication Terminal. Thesis (S.M.), Dept. of Mech. Engr., Mass. Inst. of Tech., June 1965. 16 Greiner, W. E., Development of a Braille System for Classroom Use. Thesis (S.M.), Dept. of Mech. Engr., Mass. Inst. of Tech., March 1968. 17 Scott, D. B., Jr., System for the Production of Braille. Thesis (S.M.), Dept. of Mech. Engr., Mass. Inst. of Tech., June 1969. 18 Sturges, R. H. Jr., Design Modifications of the M. E. Brailler. Thesis (S.M.) Dept. of Mech. Engr., Mass. Inst. of Tech., May 1969. 10 Conference on Automatic Data Processing and the Various Braille Codes, M.I.T., Cambridge, Mass., Mar. 17, 18, 1961. 20 Smith, Benjamin F., "Perkins Experiment with Computer-Produced Braille," Waterhouse, Edward J., "Perkins Enters the Computer Age," The Lantern, vol. XXXVII, No. 3, March 1968. 21 Proceedings of the Blind in Computer Programming, An International Conference, Cleveland, Oct. 9-11, 1969, ACM Newsletter, Special Issue, July 1970. 22 Letter, Donald Keeping, U. of Manitoba, to Proscia, V.A., M.I.T., Dec. 15, 1971. 23 Gerhart, W. R., Millen, J. K., and Sullivan, J. E. DOTSYS III, A Portable Program for Grade II Braille Translation, MTR-2119, The MITRE Corp., Bedford, Mass. 1969. 24 Millen, J. K., Choice of COBOL for Braille Translation, MTR-1743, The MITRE Corp., Bedford, Mass., 1970. 25 Millen, J. K., DOTSYS II: User's Guide and Transfer and Maintenance Manual, MTR1853 The MITRE Corp., Bedford, Mass., 1970. 26 Millen, J. K., DOTSYS II: Finite-State Syntax-Directed Braille Translation, MTR1829. The MITRE Corp., Bedford, Mass., 1970. 27 Dalrymple, G. F., "Transcription of In Darkness vis DOTSYS III and the Braillemboss." Sensory Aids Evaluation and Development Center, M.I.T., November 1972. 28 Woodcock, R. W., "Braille Research at George Peabody College, Proceedings, Braille Research and Development Conference, Sensory Aids Evaluation and Development Center, M.I.T., Cambridge, Mass., Nov. 18, 1966, pp. 20–28. 20 Proscia, V. A., Silver, S. Zumwalt, L. E. "Joint Enterprise Undertaken Between Two Centers for Development and Evaluation of a Tactile Communication Aid for Deaf-Blind Persons, SAEDC, M.I.T., Cambridge, Mass., August 1971. 30 Russell, L., "Pathsounders Instructor's Handbook," SAEDC, M.I.T., Cambridge, Mass., January 1969. 31 Goldish, L. H., Braille in the United States: Its Production, Distribution and Use, Thesis (S.M.), Sloan School of Management, M.I.T., February 1967. (Also published as a State-of-the-Art Report, American Foundation for the Blind, New York, N.Y., December 1967). 32 Puckett, R. E., Enhancement of Grade 2 Braille Translation/Final Report, U. of Kentucky, 1971. |