Speaker: Stuart Lawler

The BrailleSense 6 (Episode 35)

For at least the past 30 years, blind people have been well-served by notetakers: electronic, computer-like devices with a Perkins-style keyboard and speech and braille output. At their most basic level, they’ve functioned as an electronic brailler for composing documents and, of course, taking notes, but they’ve also included functionality such as a calculator, address list, scheduler and, latterly, internet connectivity. Over the past few years, there’s been a steady shift towards vastly increasing the capabilities of these devices, with many moving towards either Windows or Android.

The latest of this newer style of notetaker is the BrailleSense 6 from Selvis Healthcare (formerly Hims). It measures 9.65×5.67×0.87 inches, weighs 1.58 lbs (2.3 lbs with case), and is equipped with a 4590 mAh user-replaceable battery, wi-fi up to 802.11AC, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS and compass, USB C with display port functionality, full-size SD card slot, 13 MP rear camera, microphone and stereo speakers. It’s also just received its first software update.

Stuart Lawler is Head of Digital Content at Sight and Sound Technology Ltd, and Business Development Manager at Sight and Sound Ireland, and he joined me to tell us more about this update and the BrailleSense as a whole.

The BrailleSense 6 retails for £4395 excluding VAT.

Useful Links

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Braille Music: Let’s Tackle the Basics, Session 3 (Extra 28)

After a recap of octave signs and intervals, this session covered:

  • Word signs
  • Ties and slurs
  • Phrase marks

You can follow Stuart on Twittre (@stuartlawler)



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Braille Music: Let’s Tackle the Basics, Session 2 (Extra 25)

In this session, we covered:

  • Rests: quaver, crotchet, minim, semibreve and dotted versions of the above
  • Clef signs: treble (G) and bass (F)
  • Octave signs and their use
  • Interval signs and their use

A mid-month clinic will take place on Monday 14 June at 8:00 PM in the UK and Ireland. The next teaching session will take place at the same time on Monday 28 June and cover hand signs, in accord, ties, slurs, articulation, fingering and maybe tongueing.



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Braille Music: Let’s Tackle the Basics! (Extra 22)

Topics covered in this session:

  • Debunking some myths
  • Notes and note values – quavers, crotchets, minims, semibreves and dotted notes
  • Sharp, flat and natural signs
  • Time signatures and their placement – 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, common time, 6/8, 9/8
  • Key signatures and their placement – D major (2 sharps), A major (3 sharps), B major (5 sharps) and F sharp major (6 sharps)

Resources of interest:

Follow @stuartlawler and @roisindermody on Twitter

Join the next event on Monday 10 May 2021 at 8:00 PM in the UK and Ireland

Join the Braillists Foundation on Clubhouse

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Stuart Lawler (Extra 2)

This episode is a recording of a Stay Safe: Stay Connected call with Stuart Lawler held on Friday 14 August 2020.

Stuart Lawler has co-hosted many a Dublin Braillists meeting since 2015. He became Specialist Lead for Braille Product Portfolio at Sight and Sound technology Ltd in September 2018 and has over 20 years’ experience working in the Assistive Technology industry, including as a member of the Irish National Braille and Alternative Formats Association (INBAF) and, prior to joining Sight and Sound, as Rehabilitation Centre Manager and Head of Technology Innovation at the National Council for the Blind in Ireland.

This session explained how various levels of braille technology, for example a note taker or display, might be advantageous for you in different situations. It also covered how mainstream technology has embraced braille to all our advantages.

Stuart focused particularly on the ElBraille with Focus 5th edition display, the Braille Sense Polaris and the QBraille from Selvas Healthcare.



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BrailleSense, ElBraille and Canute (Episode 13)

This episode features a couple of interviews that we recorded at the recent Sight Village South East exhibition. We also hear one person’s perspective on the ElBraille.

  • Jenny Axler, Technical Support Manager at Hims and Stuart Lawler, Manager of Sight & Sound Ireland, join us to discuss the BrailleSense Polaris and Polaris Mini, QBraille XL, and the fifth generation Focus line of braille displays from Freedom Scientific.
  • Sean Randall from New College Worcester was loaned an ElBraille in 2017, to be tested by himself and his students. His thoughts were captured in this interview which, in spite of being a few years old and based on an older model of the product, is still broadly relevant. For a snapshot of ElBraille as it was in 2017, listen to episode 141 of the FSCast podcast, or for a demonstration of the 5th generation version, listen to episode 16 of the Sight & Sound Technology Podcast.
  • Finally, Liam Smyth from Bristol Braille Technology CIC brings us the exciting news that Canute 360 is now available for purchase from Techno-Vision Systems for £1895. We also find out a bit more about the user interface and hear what it sounds like when it refreshes.

Chapter markers have been inserted throughout this episode to aid navigation.



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