BiiBoards.com

These web pages discusses how to use Acoustic Cybers; which are short acoustical sounds that can convey an enormous amount of information; and micro sensors and micro computers to help the blind and others sense their enviroment.

The first link below is a white paper discussing the whole program. It contains an Introduction, a section on Acoustical Cybers, information on the Bii Board, and a discussion of manufacturing and distribution.

The second link is an excerpt from the Acoustic Cyber white paper covering the BiiBoard. The Bii Board makes it much easier to develop prototypes and share information with other groups.

The next two links show pictures and discusses the earlier prototypes we made. The last link is a discussion on how to write and communicate effectively.

Surprisingly, the actual sound (these are called [ phones ]) and what we hear (these are called / phonemes / ) can be quite different. A quote from Dr. Patricia K. Kuhl makes this clear:

"At birth, the infant brain can perceive the full set of 800 or so sounds, called phonemes, that can be strung together to form all the words in every language of the world. During the second half of the first year, our research shows, a mysterious door opens in the child's brain. He or she enters a "sensitive period," as neuroscientists call it, during which the infant brain is ready to receive the first basic lessons in the magic of language.

"To learn to speak, infants have to know which phonemes make up the words they hear all around them. They need to discriminate which 40 or so, out of all 800, phonemes they need to learn to speak words in their own language. This task requires detecting subtle differences in spoken sound. A change in a single consonant can alter the meaning of a word -- "bat" to "pat,"" for instance. And a simple vowel like "ah" varies widely when spoken by different people at different speaking rates and in different contexts.

"The most important phonemes in a given language are the ones spoken most. In English, for example, the "r" and "l" sounds are quite frequent. They appear in words such as "rake" and "read" and "lake""lead."" In Japan, the English-like "r" and "l" also occur but not as often. Instead the Japanese "r" sound is common but is rarely found in English. (The Japanese word "raamen" sounds like "laamen" to American ears because the Japanese "r" is midway between the American "r" and "l.")"

From: Scientific American, Volume 313, Issue 5, November 2015, pp 64-69 and https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-babies-learn-language/

I once tried to learn a smattering of Japanese, just enough to travel. Two of their alphabets, Hiragana and Katakana, are based on about 100 basic combinations of sounds. And Hiragana is always available in public, because it is the first alphabet the Japanese school children learn. So Hiragana is very handy for some one trying to navigate buses and trains. I tried, and tried to learn these basic sounds. But for months it just sounded like noise. Then one day, I could distinguish the sounds. It was like I had a place for each sound. My earlier study felt like I had been wandering aimlessly in a soggy marsh. And all of a sudden, it felt like I had stepping stones and a path to lead me. I have since forgotten the fragments of Japanese I learned, but I still can distingush the sounds.

I believe different individuals or groups may need their own specialized alphabets. Even childhood diseases or traumas can alter the phonemes a person can hear. Yet again, if you want to keep something secret, perhaps you and your cohort have your own alphabet. The most successful code I know of was based on 29 Navajo men speaking their complex, unwritten Navajo language during the second world war. Messages were coded in 20 seconds, instead of 30 minutes. During the war, none of the Navajo Code Talker messages were ever broken!

From: https://www.cia.gov/stories/story/navajo-code-talkers-and-the-unbreakable-code/ and https://www.intelligence.gov/people/barrier-breakers-in-history/453-navajo-code-talkers#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20Marines%20knew%20where,key%20phrases%20and%20military%20tactics

Acoustic alphabets are a fascinating field involving intriguing research and great utilitarian applications. Below are several alphabets we cobbled together. Please feel free to use these as a start to develop something really great.

This project is huge and no one has all the needed skills. -- Yet each task is easy for someone.

When I started this program, I did a business plan for venture capitalist. It showed that for their desired 35% ROI (return on investment per year) and all the startup cost of a VC Company, one needed to charge $10,000 to $20,000 per device. These devices do not cost that much to make! And most blind people can't affort this.

After examining many options, I decided to get on the bench and just make it happen. The more I worked the broader the field seemed, and the more interesting it became. But I'm 80 now, and realized I can't do it by myself. I also realized that technical work absorbes me, and when working on the lab bench, I tend to get almost nothing else done. So here's my new charter. I will help you if you are interested, work with others to organized a concerted effort, make the appropriate BiiBoards, and seek funding to support us. But I am off the bench. Hope I can stick to this.

Anyway, here are some Projects. These are just the beginning.

Cheers,

William Trimmer

1 Camera Color Sound

Annotated Bibliographies are helpful in learning a new fields, enabling collaborations, and developing Scholarship. Additions to this Bibliography are most welcome.