Software for Automatically Making Diagrams Accessible

Abstract Diagrams are an important means of conveying scientific information from statistics and graphs in new articles to illustrations of teaching material in STEM subjects However even in electronic material diagrams are commonly given in standard image formats leaving them inaccessible for visually impaired readers denying them access to news information and learning material The eventual goal of this project is therefore to develop a software solution that can recognize most standard diagrams automatically and create an audio tactile accessible version The specific aim of the Phase I project is to develop a generic recognizer for a wide variety of scientific diagrams create a rule based method for enriching the result with semantic information that is easily adaptable for a diverse range for diagrams save results in the ViewPlus IVEO intelligent Scalable Vector Graphic format IVEO information is easily readable by most blind people whether or not they can read braille and by many other people with print disabilities The software will be tested by volunteer transcribers and blind end users during the development and their feedback will guide development Narrative The software that should eventually result from this project would greatly increase the ease of access to many important diagrams Among these are charts graphs and flow diagrams that appear in much popular and professional literature as well as STEM diagrams such as chemical molecular and electric circuit diagrams The NEI mission includes quality of life issues for blind people and access to improved educational and professional opportunities afforded by this new software is part of that mission