BrailleBlaster is a free, open source, multi-platform Braille transcription software package. It has a GUI interface that is friendly to both sighted and blind users. It will be a complete tactile-literacy solution, providing mathematics and tactile graphics in addition to all features needed for Braille production. Its purpose is to bring a blast of fresh air to those who are suffocating intellectually because of a lack of tactile materials, both Braille and graphics. You are invited to join the community of developers and users.
BrailleBlaster is copyrighted under the terms of The Apache 2.0 License. This license permits wide use and distribution with no charge. The copyright is held jointly by ViewPlus Technologies, Inc. and Abilitiessoft, Inc. All rights reserved.
Project Home:
The source code is in the repository at
http://code.google.com/p/brailleblaster/
The Present draft of the BrailleBlaster specification contains a summary of BrailleBlaster features in its first part and details in subsequent sections. Below is the announcemennt of this project that was distributed to various mailing lists.
This is an announcement of an exciting new software development project that will greatly increase the availability and usability of Braille.
BrailleBlaster will be excellent for translating and formatting braille and inserting tactile graphics and hence release a blast of braille.
It will be very user-friendly for non-technical users but also powerful enough for experts.
Naive users will be able easily to compose simple documents and then translate and emboss them in braille or read them on a braille display.
Advanced users will be able to divide books into multiple braille volumes, with title pages, tables of contents, and end-notes for each volume.
The BrailleBlaster project should be completed within less than two years.
BrailleBlaster will be fully usable in speech or braille by people who are blind.
It will be designed for Windows, MacIntosh, and Linux operating systems and common screenreaders
It will have visual display controls that make it maximally accessible for users with low vision and other visual disabilities.
It will be localized into most major languages.
BrailleBlaster will be developed under the Apache 2.0 license, which permits broad use, including use in commercial software.
BrailleBlaster's sponsors are ViewPlus Technologies, Inc. and Abilitiessoft, Inc. They will hold the license copyright.