A Study Toward the Development of a Spatial, O Speech Auditory Interface for Trigonometric Problem Solvig

Abstract

There are numerous difficulties for visually disabled students when tackling mathematical problems. This relates more to methods of presentation rather than to any deficiency in the students' abilities. Although presentational advances have been made in some instances, such as for algebraic equations, problems remain when attempting to convey inherently spatial mathematics such as trigonometry or matrices. The linearity of speech and Braille output is not easily mapped to spatial attributes and therefore other methods may prove more useful in this regard. We suggest the use of non-speech spatial sound to convey an overview of trigonometric shapes. Our aim is to provide a rapid overview without relaying specific information such as angle degrees or side lengths. Later we plan to use speech and virtual navigation to enable the user to extract precise information if required while retaining the ability to revert to an overview at any stage. Our current concern is how to relay a relatively accurate picture of a trigonometric shape to the blind student using non- speech spatial audio. We therefore examine various non-speech methods of notifying the user to the presence of an angle. We compare various methods for time efficiency and accuracy. We use Microsoft XNA/XACT technology to render the non- speech, spatial sound streams and employ a User Interface Model to consider the psychoacoustic elements involved.