A Tactile Graphics Production System Bplot with a New Command-line Version to Enable Teachers and Staff with Severely Visual Disabilities on Their Own to Produce Braille Teaching Materials

Abstract

In order to make it possible for teachers and staff with severely visual disabilities in blind schools and braille publishing companies to produce tactile graphics on their own, by improving the tactile graphics production system Bplot, we developed a new command-line version of Bplot that is specially made for people with severely visual disabilities. The first improvement is that parameters of drawing commands of Bplot can be written in mathematical formulas including variables and functions. Calculations of parameters can be done automatically. The second improvement is that drawing data of graphics can be converted into drawing commands of Bplot. People with severely visual disabilities can use stocks of drawing data to produce tactile graphics by this technology.