Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington. “If I’m looking at a graph, I can pull out whatever information I am interested in, maybe it’s the overall trend or maybe it’s the maximum,” says lead author Ather Sharif, a doctoral student in the Paul G. VoxLens users can gain a high-level summary of the information described in a graph, listen to a graph translated into sound, or use voice-activated commands to ask specific questions about the data, such as the mean or the minimum value, its creators report. Millions of Americans use screen readers for a variety of reasons, including complete or partial blindness, learning disabilities, or motion sensitivity. “This work is part of a much larger agenda for us-removing bias in design.”

For example, they can showcase the number of coronavirus infections in each state.īut these graphics often are not accessible to people who use screen readers, software programs that scan the contents of a computer screen and make the contents available via a synthesized voice or Braille. Interactive visualizations have changed the way we understand our lives. VoxLens is a JavaScript plugin that, with one additional line of code, allows people who use screen readers to interact with visualizations.

Blind accessibility screen reader