This project develops transcribing software to make scientific and technical literature freely and almost instantaneously available to braille readers through fully-automated translation of both MathML and LaTeX to Nemeth braille. The PI's software will be the first braille transcribing utility capable of simultaneous and automated processing of mathematical formulas, scientific text, spatial arrangements and XML-described formats. MathML is an emerging low-level standard markup language for archiving mathematical content, and for communicating and processing mathematics by machines. LaTeX is a high-level language for writing mathematical documents. Scientific word processors can export documents in LaTeX, and many authors also use it directly with text editors. A prototype, which transforms MathML to Nemeth braille mathematics, was built on top of the PI's TeX4ht, a powerful tool for automatic conversion of LaTeX documents to MathML mathematics plus XML text. This two-layer approach avoided the need to readdress numerous difficulties, already resolved in TeX4ht, which had plagued earlier attempts to convert legacy LaTeX to Braille, and also answers the call of the National Federation of the Blind to develop tools for direct translation from MathML into Nemeth Braille. The subject areas of machine translation of MathML code to other formats and of automatic generation of Nemeth braille from XML-tagged source have received little attention. The work will identify problem areas in both fields, provide solutions with respect to the braille transcribing system, and identify significant topics for further investigation.
Broader Impacts: At the current going rate, it takes over six months to translate a single textbook at a cost of $5,000 and more. The PI's software will be highly portable across numerous platforms, and will be disseminated free of charge as open source in the public domain, as is already the case for LaTeX and TeX4ht. The ultimate outcome of the project should be increased productivity for the large number of people who must rely on Braille to read, which will in turn lead to increased integration of braille readers into technical professions.
