Accessible Test

Book Port Plus

(New)

Prototype

Purpose

To replace the analog cassette machine and the Book Port with a portable electronic device that is simple enough for anyone to use for both playback and recording of Digital Talking Books and to harness the capabilities of wireless networking to obtain content.

Project Staff

Larry Skutchan, Project Leader

Takoru Shiroki, Project Consultant

Rob Meredith, Programmer

Keith Creasy, Programmer

Ken Perry, Programmer

Rosanne Hoffman, Editor

Terri Gilmore, Artist

Background

As the difficulty of using cassette tape as a playback and a recording medium increases due to normal equipment breakdown and the lack of parts and tape, the National Library Service (NLS) transitions to online and cartridge distribution of its titles, and the ever quickening capabilities of the internet for educational and content distribution purposes explodes, the need for a portable, reliable, expandable reading device for a blind student in a technological classroom setting becomes apparent. At the same time, elderly NLS patrons who embrace the simplicity of the operation of the cassette machine and its adequate recording capabilities require a device to perform the functions for which they formally employed the APH Handi-cassette or other analog tape recorder. They want to be able to simply and effectively play a book or make a recording without having to consider extra complexity because the medium has moved from tape to digital. Many also desire the increased recording quality made possible by the digital media, recording level controls, recording monitoring, and the ability to append to existing recordings without having to position a tape.

In addition to simplicity of playback and recording, many users desire physical controls that are large and distinctive. Of all the existing DTB players, the Plextalk Pocket was identified as the hardware base that most closely meets the desired characteristics. The Plextalk Pocket contains 12 large telephone keys with a very pronounced dot on the five key, a five-way arrow/selection control, and six additional, easily distinguishable keys for various purposes including recording. Its keys are well spaced and arranged in a familiar telephone-like layout.
In addition to its desirable key controls, the Plextalk Pocket features state of the art hardware that will let it evolve over the next few years with quickly evolving standards. Standards of particular interest from the DAISY consortium are the online specifications that define methods for transferring content directly from the provider to the patron's device and specifications that will eventually let users answer test questions in a DAISY title.
APH has contracted with Shinano Kenshi Co.,Ltd. to adapt the existing Plextalk Pocket (PTP1) DAISY player recorder to meet the following goals:

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  Make the player and recorder easy enough for anyone to use.
  
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  Enable recording Digital Talking Books with section support and the ability to edit and continue recording.
  
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  Make the player flexible enough for any kind of DAISY book or common file type including NLS, RFBD, and bookshare.org.
  
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  Make playback and navigation extremely responsive and intuitive to use.
  
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  Make text files editable.
  
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  Create input techniques (including ABC and Thumb Braille).
  
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  Add support for braille files.
  

The hardware already supported the goals which include the following:

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  Easily distinguishable keys
  
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  Built-in speaker
  
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  Microphone
  
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  3.5 MM stereo Line-in/microphone jack
  
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  3.5 MM stereo headphone jack
  
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  Replaceable battery
  
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  Rechargeable battery
  
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  High capacity secure digital card removable storage
  
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  USB On-the-Go support
  
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  802/11 B and G support
  
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  Plays NLS cartridges
  
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  Supports playing audio or RFBD CDs via an optional USB CD drive
  
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  Built-in high quality text-to-speech capabilities
  

Work during FY 2009

Staff and engineers from Shinano Kenshi met and evaluated the feasibility of firmware modifications, packaging, warranty and repairs, marketing, and distribution.

Firmware modifications were broken down into options that would increase the simplicity and usability of the interface, improvements in performance, more optimal behavior for an auditory interface, and features specific to APH's interests.
Programmers at Shinano Kenshi added the following:

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  Improved performance in both navigation and menu control.
  
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  Added local navigation capabilities to DAISY text based files.
  
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  Decreased delays introduced to help improve clarity. It was discovered that most of the evaluations of the need for delays were non-English speakers.
  
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  Corrected bugs
  

Work Planned for FY 2010

Engineers will implement the following:

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  Change the use of standby mode of the hardware to keep the application in memory. This change in behavior means the device can be treated more like the cassette machine in the sense that the user can just press the button to perform the function without having to determine if the device is on or not. It is estimated that the battery life for the device while in standby mode is twenty days.
  
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  Add additional keypad navigation keys. The increased use of keys that always perform the same function simplifies the use of the device.
  
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  Make menu options and error messages contain the name of the file in question. This helps the user both confirm her actions with more confidence and helps her to determine the file that may be causing a problem.
  
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  Optimize the interface for auditory output. Changing the order in which information is presented to the user gets the most important information to her first and eliminates redundancy in menu and file navigation.
  
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  Debug changes
  

Staff will:

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  Design and prepare graphics for packaging.
  
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  Record device prompt messages.
  
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  Establish warranty and repair facilities.
  
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  Design helper software that manages the complexities of archived files.
  
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  Write documentation.
  
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  Test firmware.
  
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  Make product available in spring of 2010.
  
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  Begin work on editor and brf support.