Morse Code and Enabling Technology

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Morse Code and Enabling Technology

• Jeremy Cribb and Doug Daniell

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What is Morse Code?

• Invented in 1800s as a method for long-distance
  communication
• Ideal for electrical communication, due to its
  binary nature
• Represents the letters of the alphabet as
  electric pulses
• Composed of dits (.) and dahs (-)

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(No Transcript)
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Advantages

• Surprisingly rapid entry of text
• Ease of use / low cost
• Low need for physical ability
• Versatility
• Portability
• Unobtrusiveness
• Can aid in literacy skills

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Example Applications
Puff-sip
Opposing motion
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Disadvantages

• Low awareness ? teaching not emphasized
• Difficult to learn
• High initial error entry rate
• User discouragement

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DARCI Card (495)
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Current State of Morse Code as an Enabling
Technology

• Extensive generic hardware support (DARCI)
• Numerous software products available for desktop
  computers
• Valuable resource for persons with severe
  disabilities

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How can we extend this technology?

• Pursue applications of Morse Code input for PDAs
  / embedded systems
• Allow universal accessibility
• Enable visually impaired with text-to-speech
  feedback
• Enable physically impaired with simple and
  portable input options

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Further Benefits

• Universal design will increase functionality for
  all users
• Examples
• Mobile Input (replace PDA stylus with Bluetooth
  device?)
• Replace/augment screen output with audio feedback

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Incremental Design Approach

• Construct a functional Morse-to-Speech
  application in Python (pyMTS)
• Keyboard/Mouse input
• Port this application to the Windows CE platform
  (and/or Palm?)
• Cordless mouse for PDA morse input (Bluetooth?)
• Morse education design a game to teach Morse
  code (Morse Invaders?)

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Progress so far

• Functional program that decodes morse code as
  input and outputs
• text to a display field
• audio feedback after each letter, using a TTS
  engine and MSSAPI also reads each completed
  word and sentence
• Focus is on universal accessibility
• Demo!

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Credit

• Modern Morse Code in Rehabilitation and
  Education New Applications in Assistive
  Technology by Tomas Wayne