Audio System for Technical Readings

The advent of electronic documents makes information available in more than its visual form--electronic information can now be display-independent. We describe a computing system, A$\sb{\rm S}$T$\sb{\rm E}$R, that audio formats electronic documents to produce audio documents. A$\sb{\rm S}$T$\sb{\rm E}$R can speak both literary texts and highly technical documents (presently in (L$\sp{\rm A}$)T$\sb{\rm E}$X) that contain complex mathematics. Visual communication is characterized by the eye's ability to actively access parts of a two-dimensional display. The reader is active, while the display is passive. This active-passive role is reversed by the temporal nature of oral communication: information flows actively past a passive listener. This prohibits multiple views--it is impossible to first obtain a high-level view and then 'look' at details. These shortcomings become severe when presenting complex mathematics orally. Audio formatting, which renders information structure in a manner attuned to an auditory display, overcomes these problems. A$\sb{\rm S}$T$\sb{\rm E}$R is interactive, and the ability to browse information structure and obtain multiple views enables active listening.