Kiosk Wish List and Ideas
Purpose
- compile ideas in a common place
- create a living document that will grow and further extend our knowledge base as we better define the problem
- contains both practicle and possible solutions
- get some feedback
- fully define the problem to create a viable solid solution and the steps needed to obtain it
- get started so we can create some kind of roadmap for development milestones
The Problem(this list should continue to grow)
A device is needed that:
- is low power
- is cost effective
- functions as a remote content repository
- distributes content to the talking book device
- is capable of content play back
- has content authoring capability
- can accept custom user created content
- can sync to files from another repository (remote sync or multimedia card)
- is usable by individuals with little to no literacy level
- is usable by blind or visually impaired individuals possibly with literacy levels similar to the above
- has some sort of visualization - Graphical User Interface
- retains the functionality of the talking book device for operation
- reports usage metrics
- has more stable power source than retail devices so that it can always provide reliable time/date when synchronizing with devices
"The 10,000ft view wish list"
Hardware
- Low power or solar power capable
- 1GB ram
- Embedded device(pico itx or normal itx motherboard)
- LCD or LCD Touch screen (touch screen would be completely inaccessible for the blind)
- Keyboard
- Talking Book UI Controller
- Media card reader
- Modem
- Ethernet
- Wireless
- Cellular
- Barcode reader/scanner
Kiosk Storage
- Internal Harddrive
- Internal Flashdrive
Software
- Linux Ram Disk
- XServer
- Java
Support
- USB
- Wireless
- Ethernet
- PPP(Dial up)
- Cellular
- Audio
- Barcode reading/scanning
- Single device connection per session
Feature List
- “Picture/Graphical” based Swing UI designed to accommodate little to no literacy level(should be able to function in a similar manner as the talking book)
- Accessibility for visually impaired must be based on synthesized speech rather than exclusively depending on pre-recorded mesages such as with retail device
- A paired down controller should possibly accompany the kiosk/software that allows for operation similar to that of the talking book device
- Talking book device should appear as such or as a specified storage device when connected
- Allow barcoding of published content created with the Talking Book Authoring System(ISBN)
- Device Uploads
- Device Downloads
- Determine device capacity
- Repository Synchronization or some sort or available media insertion
- Authoring system capability
- Net/repository upload
- Net/repository download
- Usage metrics recording:
-
- user created vs published content
- uploads/downloads
-
- average time
- file size
- number
-
-
Component Breakdown of the wish list
We are going to breakdown the components here at a fairly highlevel still.
Operating System:
Topics to note
- If the kiosk will use a GUI interface then the only realistic option we have is Gnome with Orca and eSpeak with Firefox 3 for the blind and visually impaired. If it will use text-based console, then we could use YASR or Emacspeak. A text-based interface is not realistic given the target audience.
- Braille devices are prohibitively expensive. Those sold in the US start at over US$2K, and even a Chinese-made version starts at over US$1K.. We need to stick to synthesized speech via Gnome + orca + eSpeak to keep costs down.
Distros to consider
These are not set in stone and should continue to grow as distributions are found that support what is needed:
- Suse Linux
- Puppy Linux
- Solaris or Solaris derivative
The distro of choice would basically be stripped of all non-essential software and left with the following:
Supported | Reason |
---|---|
Hot Plug USB Support | Talking Book Device external storage internal storage/multimedia reader( for sd, compact flash, etc.) possible user interface controller keyboard and mouse |
XServer | Graphical Touch and Drag User Interface Content Authoring System |
Audio (ALSA and or Open Sound System) | Record Playback Content Authoring System User Interface Feedback |
Linux Accessibility Packages | Text to speech Braile Device |
Standard File System | Self explanitory |
Console | Terminal Access |
RAM Disk | OS and related functionality |
Communications/Networking/PPP | Ethernet Wireless Dial up/Modem VOIP Cellular |
Third Party Packages
OS level packages that are utilized
Package | Usage |
---|---|
Codecs | Vorbis/Ogg WAV FLAC |
Custom Device Driver | Talking Book Device recognition |
CD/DVD ripping and recording | K3b or other for custom content |
Web browser | Opera - capable of running in Kiosk mode Firefox (Could we standardize under Firefox to leverage the work already done to make it accessible. it is also more memory efficient than Opra according to.) |
Accessibility Packages | Text to Speech (eSpeak) Teletype Devices |
Third Party and Open Source Libraries
Libraries utilized in the software development
Library | header |
---|---|
Apache Lucene | repository and log indexing |
Log4j | application logging |
Apache Xerces Parser | parsing content metadata |
GTK | Graphical User Interface |
SDL | Graphical User Interface and multimedia |
OpenAL | Audio functionality |
Hardware
What we should be looking at for hardware and why
Component | Reason |
---|---|
ITX, Micro ITX, or Pico ITX motherboards | low power low cost retains x86 fuctionality supported by most Linux distros supports hardware we need |
USB | Talking Book Device Keyboard and mouse multimedia card reader etc. |
LCD or LCD Touchscreen | Touch Drag and Drop Graphical User Interface for low to no literacy level |
Barcode scanner | ISBN encoded books and media can be utilized as a way to load content onto a connected device without the need for a visual interface or extra fuctionality that is normally provided by the talking book device |
Keyboard and Mouse | For content authors, literate users this is a stop gap that would allow faster and more accurate access provides access for maintanence etc. |
Multimedia card reader | content distribution mechanism external storage store content remotely vs on the machines internal storage device Kiosk user control/auth |
Paired down Talking Book Kiosk controller | Possible User Interface control mechanism that works in a similar manner to the talking book device |
1 Gigabyte RAM | OS in RAM Disk Kiosk Software in Ram Disk Enough RAM to encode and decode if needed |
Internal Harddrive | OS and functionality Installed software and packages Kiosk software Authoring Software Content Repository |
Internal Flash drive | lower power than typical harddrive OS and functionality Installed software and packages Kiosk software Authoring Software Content Repository |
Ethernet/Wireless/Modem/Cellular | Communications VOIP remote repository syncing remote kiosk management content distribution |