BATS homework due 2/4/02
For this homework, you will download, install, and work with a prototype of BATS, the Blind Audio Tactile Mapping System. For each step of the assignment, keep notes about how you interact with the software. Keep track of what is easy/difficult, what can be improved, what can be replaced, what can be added, etc. On 2/4, we will critque BATS as a class, discuss how it can be improved, and apply lessons learned to our thinking about final projects.
- Download the BATS North Carolina demo from http://www.cs.unc.edu/Research/assist/bats/index.html. How hard is it to actually download the software? Do you think you could still download it if you had a visual impairment?
- Install the software. Again, do you think you could install it if you were blind?
- Run BATS and learn the commands. All of the functions of the software can be accessed via the buttons on a mouse, trackball, joystick, etc. Can you figure out what each button does without looking at the included text document?
- Explore the map for a few minutes. Get used to the interface.
- After you are comfortable with the software, try to complete the following tasks:
- Position the cursor on Raleigh. Now close your eyes and try to get to Winston-Salem using only the sounds and textures. Can you do it? Roughly how long does it take you? Without looking at the map again, can you tell in what general direction you travelled?
- Start in Raleigh again and try to find the city of Greenville with your eyes closed. What county is it in? Is it any harder to find this smaller city?
- Position your cursor in Charlotte. With your eyes closed, try to find the Cherokee Reservation. After about 5 minutes, if you cannot find it, try to find it with your eyes open. How difficult was this task? Does the visual map actually help at all in locating this region?
Note: There is support for tactile feedback in this demo. If you do not have a tactile device, see Missy Wood in room 228 to borrow a joystick or trackball for an hour or so. Also, please wear headphones when using the demo if possible. The spatial sound is much more effective using them instead of standard speakers (unless you have a surround sound system.)