Accessible Graphical Display for Numerical Data

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long range goal of this project is to provide authoring tools permitting graphical information to be exported from popular computer applications in a form that is universally usable by all people, in particular by p eople who are blind or who have other print disabilities. ViewPlus has already created the hardware and software technologies required for all people to have excellent access to graphical information that is in well-structured annotated Scalable Vector Gra phic (SVG) format. This project will assure that several kinds of important quantitative graphical information can easily be exported in this fully accessible SVG form. Many experts believe that SVG will eventually become the most popular way of displaying graphics in electronic literature. This project increases the likelihood that mainstream authors and publishers will use accessible SVG instead of SVG that is only visually accessible. Much health-related information can immediately be made accessible as a direct result of this project. In addition the SVG export applications are likely to stimulate other manufacturers to add accessible SVG export functionality to their software so that more and more graphical information can become fully accessible to all people. More accessible literature will enhance educational and professional opportunities and generally improve quality of life for people with print disabilities. Quality of life issues for blind people are part of the mission of the National Eye Instit ute. Three SVG export utilities will be developed in this project. All will automatically produce well-structured annotated SVG files, requiring no more effort by authors than saving in any other format. The capabilities of the ViewPlus IVEO SVG Viewer wil l be enhanced to permit excellent access by all people to the rich information in such files. Feasibility of this enhanced access was proven in the Phase I project. One of these utilities is an accessible SVG export for GIS (Geographic Information System) information created using the popular software from Environmental Sciences Research Institute (ESRI). Another is a new accessible SVG export from the ViewPlus Audio Graphing Calculator. Finally a web server utility will be developed that permits web sites to make graphs accessible by sending an audio tone file to the client. The utility will also have an accessible SVG export capability similar to what is exported by the Audio Graphing Calculator, giving more complete audio access than is practical on-line with internet applications. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This project can dramatically increase the amount and quality of information that can be accessed by people with severe print disabilities including a great deal of medical and health- related informatio n that is presently nearly impossible to make accessible. It has great potential to enhance educational and professional opportunities for people who are blind, severely dyslexic, or have other print disabilities. As such it could strongly enhance quality of life for blind people, one of the missions of the NEI.