Equivalent Print Access for BVIs
Current Project:
Full page electronic text reading (W. Gourley)
The goal of this project is to provide assistive technology for individuals who are blind or visually impaired that achieves the full equivalent of sighted text access (which includes the ability to skim, scan and search text while retaining the surrounding context), in contrast to the primarily word by word access that is currently available. Equivalent access to those that are sighted is essential for the timely completion of educational and work tasks to enable individuals who are blind or visually impaired to be competitive to their peers and reach their potential.
The approach focuses on text to speech as many individuals who are blind or visually impaired do not know Braille. The approach allows the user to control the location of the words read in a virtual page and the rate of speech by movement of their fingers over a tactile overlay indicating the lines of text. Users are able to change speed, backtrack or jump to a new area of the text intuitively with their fingers. This method also, as with Braille, ensure active learning as the text is only read when a user moves their finger to read (in contrast to screen readers).