ADRIANE - Audio Desktop Reference Implementation and Networking Environment

ABSTRACT

ADRIANE is an easy-to-use, talking desktop system with optional support for braille, which can be used entirely without vision oriented output devices. Especially access to standard internet services like email, surfing the web, scanning and reading of printed documents and much more.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Especially blind people, who have no or very few computer skills, and/or have had bad encounters with graphic-focused computer interfaces, may experience an easy entry to the digital world. But also people with normal vision, who prefer a less complicated step-by-step menu, instead of an icon/animation-overloaded and over-complex graphical desktop, may profit from ADRIANE.

MAIN FEATURES OF ADRIANE

WWW

Surfing the Web is supported by a special web browser (elinks), which presents the relevant information in an easy to read form, and also supports Javascript, picture- and multimedia-content if selected. Using the arrow-keys and ENTER, the user can easily navigate through weblinks, where the "normal " text is accessible through the reading functions. Webforms for the internet search, online shopping and online banking are also supported.

EMail

Reading and writing/answering email, provided you have an email account.

Text recognition

Scanning, speaking or saving of printed texts like mail, newspaper articles or books.

Multimedia

Playing of audio or video files, digital TV via DVB-T.

Notebook

Creating and managing of short notes or text files.

Contact manager

Compact database for adresses and phone numbers.

File manager

For managing your own documents, adresses and notes, multimedia files and such, a rather simple file manager is integrated into the ADRIANE menus, which also allows on-demand inclusion of flash disks and other removable media.

Graphical programs

Graphics mode is the "mouse/touchscreen-oriented" desktop known to many users, which is made accessible by the graphical screenreader orca and compiz-fusions zoom functions for vision impaired users. Here, openoffice and firefox as well as many other graphical applications are available.

Settings

Adjustments for volume of speech output, standard page orientation for text recognition, network and other settings can be changed here.

Customized Functions

The ADRIANE menu system can be taylored to contain additional applcations, or just a subset (the "favourites") of the user.

TECHNOLOGY

ADRIANE uses SBL (Screenreader for Blind Linux Users) from Marco Skambraks and Halim Sahin with Debian-integration by Klaus Knopper, speech-dispatcher/espeak as speech engine. Because of a python bridge, the screenreader also interoperates with orca, which is the graphical screenreader used together with compiz-fusions zoom functions after switching to graphical mode. The easy audio-desktop is being realized by dialog and bash-scripts in a consistent user interface, and is therefore very portable and easily extensible. Sources and packages of extensions specific to ADRIANE, can be found inside the KNOPPIX repositories.

LICENSE

The ADRIANE system is Free Software and available under the conditions of the GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE V2. This means, as a short summary, the recipient of the software has the right

• to use the software without restrictions for any purpose, private and for the job, free of charge,
• to modify the software, or let someone else conduct desired modifications,
• to copy and give away the software in its original form, or with your modifications, provided that the new recipients get the same rights that you received with the software.

GETTING ADRIANE

ADRIANE has been part of the KNOPPIX Live CD/DVD since Version 5.3 and is available for download from the KNOPPIX Mirrors. Entering boot option adriane will start the KNOPPIX directly with speech support. The special ADRIANE edition of the KNOPPIX CD version has this option already set by default. Various independent vendors also sell computers preinstalled and preconfigured with ADRIANE, or offer installation support and a short introduction and teaching about ADRIANE.

Micro-Remastering - start adriane automatically (USB flash pen version)

Boot options like "adriane" can easily be preset by changing syslinux.cfg (and, for UEFI systems, also syslnx64.cfg in folder boot/syslinux after having copied the DVD to a bootable USB flash pen using "flash-knoppix":

Notice: For 32-bit computer systems, please use adriane instead of adriane64.

ADRIANE DOCUMENTATION

The ADRIANE system contains online help within most of its components. An extensive manual for ADRIANE is work in progress as wikibook, but currently only available in German language: https://de.wikibooks.org/wiki/Adriane-Handbuch

ADRIANE IN THE PRESS

• Auszeichnung für das ADRIANE-Projekt und das Engagement für barrierefreie IT (deutsch)
• Interview mit Adriane und Klaus Knopper in der SWR Landesschau Rheinland-Pfalz am 30.8.2022 (deutsch)
• Heise Newsticker (deutsch)
• EFY Times India: Free Operating System For Blind (english)
• Knoppix 6.0 Adriane (english)