Research Seminars - October 27, 2000

Abstract

In this talk I will be speak on my Masters of Science by Research thesis. Supervised by Mr. Peter Jones, I am researching an alternative to the visual rendering of web browsers. The goal is to provide better access to web-documents for the visually impaired and blind.

A client application will be developed that provides an opportunity for the users to become active listeners of oral communication; enabling multiple "views" of the document in addition to navigational support and status monitoring. The client will format HTML, XML (eXtensible Markup Language), and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) producing a resultant audio document attuned to an auditory display. Research will be conducted in the following areas as a means of conveying logical document structure: text to speech (TTS) synthesis, paralinguistic speech cues, non-speech audio, and musical audio.

Plans to test and develop such an application with the help of visually impaired and blind persons will also be discussed. The end result will be an auditory browser, capable of testing various hypotheses on the effectiveness of "earcons", "auditory icons", and musical audio as a means of communicating structured web-information.

The talk will include my research conducted, an overview of standards, initiatives, and existing assistive technology, progress to date, demonstrations, implementation plans, and suggestions for further research. I will appreciate any questions and suggestions regarding the information presented.