More than fifty years have passed since the first commercial Software for Braille transcription was developed. Since then, significant progress has been made in text processing and transcription. Today, software capable of automatically transcribing standard documents into Braille exists, and its name is Biblos.
This year marks the tenth anniversary of Braille printing in Biblos. From October 2007 until today, ten years have gone by. During this time I have analyzed printing issues, carried out studies and research, and developed solutions suited to modern technologies. For the past decade, analysis and design, development and testing, distribution and maintenance have formed a continuous cycle that keeps the Biblos project alive.
Over the last fifty years, many Braille transcription applications have been created. Their developers have all shared the goal of producing Braille with an ever greater degree of automation. Before developing yet another Braille transcription application, I looked back at the past and examined the state of the art in 2007. I asked myself a few questions:
- Can I implement all Braille transcription rules, automate them, and make them user-friendly?
- Beyond plain text, can I convert the formatting and structural elements of standard documents into Braille?
- Can I start from scratch and create a completely new system instead of merely evolving existing transcription software?
To answer the first question, I decided to go even further. Not only would Braille rules be made user-friendly, but experienced users themselves would have the ability to write those rules.
Braille translation works by replacing characters or sequences of characters with the corresponding Braille cells that represent them. Whenever necessary, special indicators are also added to highlight changes in the meaning of cells or in the Braille context.
The Braille translation tables in Biblos use powerful algorithms that allow you, the user, to create any transcription table you need. Braille can be either uncontracted or contracted. Biblos tables can be programmed to support both the straightforward requirements of uncontracted Braille and the far more complex rules of contracted Braille.
The transcription tables are so flexible that they can be used in two different ways:
- transcription based on predefined rules;
- transcription based on word dictionaries.
This makes it possible to create any type of Braille table for any language and any Braille code.
Not a Braille expert? No problem. Biblos already includes a comprehensive collection of transcription tables, ready to meet virtually any printing need. And if you decide to become an expert, you can modify them as you wish, adapting Braille to your own needs instead of adapting yourself to Braille.
To answer the second question, I compared the structures of Word processing with those of Braille. Just as printed documents follow formatting rules, Braille documents have formatting rules of their own. Unfortunately, the formatting rules for Braille had never been formally standardized. In other words, no quality standards had been established to guide transcribers in producing consistent results. The situation was, and in many respects still is, rather chaotic. Over the years I have worked to codify these rules in a document I called *The Braille Typographer's Handbook*.
I developed Biblos with a global vision. My goal has always been to create software that could be used all over the world, not only in Italy. Had I wanted to build something exclusively for Italian Braille transcription, the task would have been much easier.
As a result, I had to develop algorithms capable of translating not only text but also the formatting of standard documents into Braille. I also had to make the system highly customizable so it could adapt to the different "rules" followed by Braille systems around the world.
Biblos automatically translates much of the formatting and structure commonly used in word processing. For example, Braille tables must be formatted according to specific rules to ensure readability. These rules often require changes to the original table structure in order to fit within the limited width of a Braille page. For this reason, Biblos provides a wide range of options and customization features that allow users to adapt table printing to their specific needs. The entire translation process is completely transparent to the user, and ordinary tables are converted automatically.
I must admit that answering the third question required some careful thought. I was even tempted to reuse parts of an older transcription system. In the end, with a fair amount of courage, I chose to develop a completely new Braille system, one that would revolutionize, overturn, and redefine the transcription methods that had come before it. I still see the effects of that decision today when experienced transcribers approach Biblos and struggle to understand that they must let go of the methods they relied on in the past. Those who resist change continue to struggle, while those who are more open quickly embrace the Biblos Braille system and become enthusiastic about it.
One of the first questions people often ask is: Can I edit the Braille transcription produced by Biblos before sending it to the embosser?
The answer is, naturally, no. If something is wrong with the transcription, the correction must be made in the original document. Otherwise, we would simply return to manually editing everything, eliminating the very advantages that Biblos provides. It is a simple yet fundamental principle.
Biblos brings Braille and word processing together into a single, inseparable system. This allows even complete beginners to produce Braille without facing unnecessary barriers. Blind people have spent decades fighting the digital divide. Why should we create a Braille divide when it comes to Braille itself? That would be unacceptable. Biblos has always been, and will always remain, accessible to newcomers while at the same time providing Braille professionals with every tool they need to produce high-quality work without having to manually edit the final document.
For example, when a standard document is transcribed into Braille, it is sometimes necessary for the Braille formatting to reflect certain aspects of the printed version. It may be necessary to include both the original print page numbers and the Braille page numbers. I solved this by introducing real page elements, supported by a variety of automation tools.
Another example involves poetry. Braille poetry follows a unique structure, often very different from its printed counterpart. For this reason, I introduced dedicated poetry elements, special tags that allow users to choose and customize how poems are transcribed within a document.
These were three questions I asked myself, questions that I certainly did not answer overnight. Over ten years of Biblos development, I gradually refined my answers as I encountered the very challenges I had anticipated. Those same questions often pushed me away from my original ideas, yet they also led me toward efficient and effective solutions.
Of course, the journey has not always been smooth. I have had to make compromises, put some issues on hold, and even abandon the development of certain features because of limited financial and human resources. The one thing I have never abandoned is the vision that started it all: the Biblos system must free users from manual transcription work and make every stage of the transcription process as simple and user-friendly as possible.