Modular Evolution
Active Tactile Control (ATC)
Handy Tech
Elektronik GmbH
Page 23
reading normal
resting
reading backwards
It is also possible to delay the speech output for a certain amount of time if you do
not want the text to be spoken right away. This delay is entered in milliseconds. The
possible range for this value is from 0 (no delay) to 5000 milliseconds.
You can also determine the reading speed after which the ATC-function should
define your reading speed as "fast". For this specification, you can enter any value
from 0 to 200 characters per second.
The time period after which the ATC-function should identify your reading status as
"resting" can also be customized. This value is specified in milliseconds.
You can further control the speech output by checking or unchecking the check
boxes "Speak word only at end of word" and "Also spell word". If "Also spell word" is
checked, you can then also insert a delay before speech output starts by activating
the check box "Use delay while spelling word". These settings are implemented only
if you have assigned the action "Speak word" to any one of the four possible reading
behaviors.
You can control what happens when you reach the end of the Braille line in the field
"Action when line has been read". Three check boxes are available. If you check
"Signal tone", a signal tone will be emitted when you have read the last character on
the line. If the check box "Automatic scrolling after xxx milliseconds" is checked, you
don't need to press [TRD] to advance when you reach the end of the line, instead,
the next line will automatically be displayed after the specified time has elapsed. If
you activate the check box "Indicate empty lines", blank lines will be shown on the
Braille display by setting all the dots of the first three elements on the display. This is
useful if you have automatic scrolling enabled, because now you do not have to
manually advance through blank lines by pressing [TRD].
5.2 Tips for Utilizing ATC to Learn Braille
In this section, we provide some useful tips for how you can improve your Braille
reading skills with the help of ATC. First, enable ATC by entering the key
combination [L + 1 7] or [L + B1 + B4] (Chord A), that is, the B4 and B1 keys together
with the left thumb key. This will activate the Braille system's reading position
detection via ATC. You can turn ATC off again by entering this same key
combination.
In the default setting, the Assistant Mode is "Reading". Under the tab ATC in the
Settings window for Handy Tech Braille displays, change the Assistant Mode to
"Learning". Now, after you have read an entire word, the word will be spoken as
speech output. In this way, ATC can help you to become more secure in reading text.
If you come across any Braille character that you do not recognize, you only need to
