braill midi display project idea

[johndsexton]

Hi,

I'm not an application developer, just a web developer who is visually impaired and I come across some of your work, like MIDI Text. Which I think is great!

I'll also be checking out some of your other work like 6pad and lua to exe. I currently use Supernova and that uses lua scripts to build custom speach/braille responses for applications. However, my reason for contacting you is for another MIDI idea.

The idea is to have an application that can talk to the MIDI out of a DAW, where information like metre levels and selected soft synth patches are sent, normally to physical MIDI hardware that uses LCDs and/or LEDs to show this data. However, this software will format it and send it to a Braille display. For example, the DAW will most likely have a master level metre and clip indicators displayed on screen as well as sent through its midi out (normally a physical midi device). Although this software would show the master levels and clipping on a Braille display by using a row of pins where up equals a LED on state and down is the LED off. It could also be used to translate text information like a selected patch or sample, the tempo, song position etc.

There is a similar application that can send information to a screen reader called surface reader but for things of a dynamic nature like level metres or scopes, voice is just to slow or will distract the work. Braille can be both faster as well as not distract the sound work. Dolphin I believe have a sdk for applications to talk with Braille and speech and I understand there are some lua modules for working with midi i/o.

I put the idea to you and if you choose to use it and develop something from the idea, I'd be very grateful if you can please let me know. I am not looking for any recognition for the idea, as the hard part is writing the application and I believe the credit should lay there.

Many thanks,
John
ps you can reach me at john@developer.plus.com (uk)