[BRLTTY] [OT] How to integrate BSI into a Linux cell phone?

[Chevelle]

     Braille screen input would be fine, but the first challenge would 
be to get Linux installed and have some accessible applications. I find 
it hard to imagine using Braille Screen Input for any serious work.  
Many Braille displays already have keys that allow Braille input.  If I 
remember correctly, some company is selling a $99 Braille keyboard that 
has Blue tooth.  I would think your time would be better spent on making 
a Linux distribution accessible, on phones.

I don't want to discourage you.

This site shows Linux projects for use on phones.

https://many.tuxphones.com/


On 8/12/2020 11:39 AM, Rich wrote:
> Although this question is somewhat off-topic, I'm hoping that some folks here
> will find it interesting enough to give me a bit of slack.  Anyway, here goes...
>
> Background
>
> I'm a sighted, semi-retired, volunteer developer who is very interested in the
> possibility of re-purposing Android cell phones as blind-accessible computing
> and communication devices.  There are a number of projects working on re-using
> the billions of aging cell phones that are out there.  Some, such as LineageOS,
> start with an open source version of Android.  Others, such as postmarketOS and
> Mobian, start with a more vanilla flavor of Linux (e.g., Alpine, Debian).
>
> Although the first approach makes tons of Android software available, most of
> this is GUI-based, so accessibility will generally be a challenge.  Basing the
> system on Linux allows a wealth of CLI-based software to be used and helps to
> anchor the resulting system more closely in the open source community.
>
> Challenges
>
> One of the biggest challenges, I suspect, will be providing an accessible form
> of text input.  Most screen-based keyboards for cell phones aren't suitable,
> a physical keyboard would add cost and bulk, and voice recognition (without the
> support of cloud computing) still seems to be beyond the phone's capabilities.
>
> So, I've been speculating about how to support Braille Screen Input (BSI) on a
> Linux-based cell phone.  BSI is available on Android, Fire OS, and iOS (please
> let me know if I'm missing any others!), but I haven't found any indication that
> anyone is working on supporting it for any form of Linux.
>
> I think I have a handle on how to architect the front end of the code, using a
> set of Actors (lightweight processes) running on a foundation of Elixir, Erlang,
> and OTP.  However, I'm totally out of my depth when it comes to interfacing the
> code to other apps, the window system, and the rest of the OS.
>
> Should I be looking into D-Bus, GTK, Qt, or what?  Also, are there any ways the
> code could leverage BRLTTY, Emacspeak, Orca, etc?  How would typical blind users
> want a BSI subsystem to act in this context?  I'm really confused here, so I'm
> asking for advice, comments, and so forth.
>
> -r
>
> P.S.  There is at least one physical keyboard which isn't totally out of the
> question for use with a cell phone.  It's a folding keyboard/touchpad combo that
> supports both Bluetooth and USB.  It's about 6" x 3.8" x 0.5" when folded up and
> 12" x 3.8" x 0.25" when unfolded:
>
> Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard, Jelly Comb Dual Mode Bluetooth & USB
> Wired Rechargable Portable Mini BT Wireless Keyboard with Touchpad Mouse
> for Android, Windows, PC, Tablet-Black
> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07S9XZDGY
>
>   
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