Over the last 22 years, i have had the opportunity to experience many different notetaking devices ranging from the braille n speak from blazie engineering to the braillenote and braillesense. All these devices can be considered mobile with their weight varying between 200g and 400g. Speak to us today about our development services to help make your software applications accessible. Their output may be in synthesized speech, in refreshable braille, or in both. The cable which comes with your unit often can be used alone or in. Braille blazer blazie engineering model bb11 portable printer embosser speech synthesizer. Freedom scientific braille blazer owners manual pdf download. You can use software that supports the powerbraille to have it automatically move. The software helps the bns connect with the modem and interact with internet services. Popular examples of screen access programs that support the braille n speak include asap, jaws, and vocaleyes.
Creaters of mega dots braille transcriber aanscriber and word processor for the blind. Blazie engineering tns1 type n speak educational development keyboard system there are some marks and wear on the keyboard from general use. The other din port connects the type n speak to the blazie engineering portable external disk drive. Although our interfacing experience only extends to the braille n speak, other blazie engineering products, namely the type n speak and the braille lite, which are capable of 2way rs. By pressing as few as one key at a time the braille n speak can be used to its full extent. Blazie engineering limited officers free information from. I guess the next stage for you then was to form blazie engineering. A bit of notetaker history may be instructive at this point in our discussion. Note that the b key is missing from the keyboard, but the button beneath it is still working properly. The next generation laboratory interface for students with.
The braille n speak has long been used by blind students and professionals as a notetaking device, and more currently, as a speech synthesizer for a computer. Mar 28, 20 this is why you need to learn how to talk to developers. Other products, such as type n speak, offer the standard qwerty keyboard for text inputting rather than braille. My friend is a visually impaired senior citizen who relies heavily on a note taking device called a braille and speak 2000.
So you should be able to direct your screen access program to work with the blazer. Since their introduction over a dozen years ago, the braille n speak and braille lite, both products from blazie engineering, have enjoyed the lions share of the notetaker market. Blazie assistive technology services blazie engineering. From within braille n speak you can set line and page length, left and top margin values. Also supports standard speech synthesizers and a regular keyboard. Blazie engineering provider of braille n speak, braille lite, and the braille blazer. Others have builtin refreshable braille displays for monitoring and editing in braille as well.
May 03, 2016 it also had the ability to run external software. If you are using a braille n speak or other notetaking device, or a second. Blazie engineerings braille n speak is a pocket talking computer with. The powerbraille refreshable braille display users guide blazie. Celebrating a major milestone25 years of service in the. Blazie engineering, braille n speak type n speak this family of portable electronic note takers allow blind students to independently take written notes in class or on the go. If you have any questions or comments, please give us a call or send us an email and well contact you as soon as possible. For 15 years, blazie engineerings braille n speakwith a braille keyboard and speech output, joined later by its braille lite identical with the addition of a braille displaydominated the adapted notetaker market.
Sign up text to speak and synthesis app using the web speech api. What has that purchase meant to blazie engineering. Braille blazer blazie engineering model bb11 portable. Blazie engineering is an information technology and services company based out of 105 e jarrettsville rd, forest hill, maryland, united states. A highlight of the opening of the states technology showcase was the exhibit of computer software and devices for the blind. Supporting inhouse developments and offtheshelf software, blazie provides services for software assessment, development, and developer support to help make your applications accessible to users with disabilities. Its voice replaces a computer screen for anyone who has trouble reading print. The dro uses duxbury translation software to emboss course materials into braille. Since 1999, blazie has provided assistive technology consultation, software, and training for a variety of business sectors across the uk and ireland. Winvision artic technologies requires artic synphonix 215 speech card or transport external synthesizer and artic business vision speech access software.
Powerbraille 406580 user manual freedom scientific. If you want to use freedom scientifics type n speak 2000, braille lite 18, braille lite 40, or braille lite 2000 models. Blazer, braille lite, braille n speak, power braille, type lite, type n. These devices fall into two camps, one of which uses a proprietary operating system and application software, like the braille n speak, and one that is based on a standard operating system and application software, like the myna. Remembering the type lite and other blazie engineering hardware chris and kim remember the type lite and share some experiences with early assistive technology. Braille jymico production of graphics using raised contours and musical texts in braille. Brailleterm or vterm software telecommunication software for the bns from blazie engineering. Both included simple word processing, a calendar, a clock, and a calculator. This remarkable device, which is the size of a videocassette and looks like little more than a box with seven keys, made it possible for visually impaired users to store up to 30 files of notes, keep a calendar and phone directory, check the time and date, and have quick access to a calculator and stopwatch. This device is the same as the braille n speak 640 except that it has a regular computerstyle keyboard instead of a braille keyboard. That early version, now referred to as the classic braillen speak, weighed in at 2. Sites of interest to blind and visually impaired people dave mielke.
Windows master blazie engineering uses braille n speak for both input and output. Other blind students may prefer the type n speak 2000 blazie engineering which uses the standard qwerty keyboard with speech output. Sites of interest to blind and visually impaired people. Headquartered in forest hill, maryland, blazie engineering is best known for its awardwinning braille n speak. Blazie engineering has cables which connect braille n speak to many of the printers in common use. Speech turns people with disabilities into technological leaders.
Speech access technology education development center. Blazie engineering is the leading designer of portable, note taking. Each machine has its own distinct advantages and disadvantages. It can run as a command line program to speak text from a file or from stdin. Type n speak 2000 blazie engineering recently introduced type n speak 2000, an enhanced talking notetaker for blind and visuallyimpaired people. This app uses the web speech api which is experimental and may not fully work in some versions of certain browsers. This family of portable electronic note takers allow blind students to independently take written notes in class or on the go.
Bns will be used through out this document to represent any of the devices. This document provides basic information on how to the blazie engineering family of notetakers to use email or connect to the internet. Braille lite blazie engineering personal data assistant with speech output and a refreshable braille display. In this exclusive audio interview, we talk to blazie about his career and some history of blazie engineering, as well as his involvement in a project which may yield a forthcoming affordable notetaker. You could make it talk very quickly, without losing quality, which was one nice thing. If you want to use freedom scientifics own braille n speak with the blazers serial port, use the special serial cable that comes with the braille n speak to connect to the blazers serial port. Even the braille n speak loses quite a bit of quality as you speed up.
In 1987, deane blazie introduced his now ubiquitous notetaker, the braillen speak. Most screen access programs have a driver for the braille n speak. Braille only users, users preferring to type, users preferring to braille. Blazie engineering limited free company information from companies house including registered office address, filing history, accounts, annual return, officers, charges, business activity. My restored blazie type n speak echoing the nato phonetic alphabet. This is why you need to learn how to talk to developers. In the case of a parallel printer, you will need the serialto parallel cable available from blazie engineering. This interface, although far more cost effective, was difficult to replicate due to customization needed in pin configurations on connector cables between laboratory equipment and. Remembering the type lite and other blazie engineering. Some synthesizers and speech access programs are linked and sold as a. In 1992, blazie released the type n speak, a bns type device with a wonderful qwerty keyboard. Blazie engineering announces the immediate availability of a one handed keyboard option for the braille n speak.
I have used them for both work and leisure activities. Connecting the blazer to your computer the blazer works with an ibm pccompatible or apple computer, a braille n speak, braille lite, or type n speak. If the printer you want to use is a parallel printer, the cable and interface kit alone will not be enough. Jan 28, 2010 deane blazie was a recipient of the 2010 migel medal, for his work on the brraille n speak and his contributions to the assistive technology field. Blazie engineering makers of braille n speak, type n speak, braille blazer, screen reading software and more. The braille n speak is equipped to run additional software for added capabilities. The braille lite, type n speak, and most computers let you print or braille through a parallel connection, so the blazer comes from the factory with the parallel port activated and the. This option allows the braille n speak pocket computer to be operated by persons who lack the full use of all fingers or hands.
The company got its start in 1987 when it introduced the braille n speak at the national federation of the blind convention, and has since become the leading manufacturer of notetakers for the blind. Chris turns on a type lite so you can hear what it sounds like. Nov 04, 2018 in addition to producing products such as the braille n speak and braille lite, blazie engineering was also a distributor of many thirdparty products, such as screen readers and speech synthesizers, and the company had been selling jaws for dos when i first began working there. The dro also has power braille 40 refreshable braille display unit, braillenspeak notetakers, type nspeak notetakers, and a blazie engineering braille blazer portable embosser available for checkout for student or departmental use. A speech server for emacspeak and yasr or other screen readers that allows. Braille users may choose the braille lite 2000 blazie engineering which is a very small notetaker which uses a braille keyboard, refreshable braille display, and speech output. Type n speak is a standalone word processor with voice output, which features a standard qwerty keyboard. If you want to use freedom scientifics type n speak 2000. The blazie notetakers include braille n speak, type n speak, and braille lite. Eventually, both blazie staff and some talented users began releasing software for it including games, braille translators, a macro editor, two terminal programs and other utilities. The measurements also fit the mobile category with the largest one having the. Some of these devices, such as the blazie engineering type n speak 2000 offer the three options whereas others offer just one type of input.