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Senior Citizen and Internet
IBM Announces Tool to Help Visually Impaired 'See'
Internet Multimedia
Millions of senior citizens may experience
streaming video, animation
 March 25, 2007 - IBM has announced a
first-of-its-kind emerging technology that helps blind and visually
impaired people experience streaming video and animation on the
Internet. It is estimated that there are more than 161 million people
with these impairments and the vast majority are senior citizens.
The multimedia browsing accessibility tool hasn't
been named yet, according to
Information Week. "Chieko Asakawa, a senior accessibility researcher
at IBM who has been blind since the age of 14, spearheaded the
development of the new software out of frustration with streaming
video," IW says. It was designed at IBM's Tokyo Research Laboratory.
The emergence of multimedia content has raised
usage levels of Web content. Yet people with low or no vision have not
been able to enjoy the benefits of these advances. Screen-reading
software and self-talking browsers cannot handle multimedia
applications, which are designed for intuitive visual use. Visually
impaired users cannot see multimedia control buttons appear on a screen.
In addition, the audio of a streaming video ---
which automatically starts playing after the page is loaded ---
interferes with a synthesized assistive voice from screen-reading
software, a vital assistant for visually impaired users. Furthermore,
most multimedia content operates with a mouse rather than keyboard,
making it impossible for visually impaired people to use it.
The new multimedia browsing accessibility tool
offers people with visual impairment the same multimedia control
features sighted people see and operate with a mouse.
To enjoy a streaming video on video sharing
websites, for example, visually impaired people can select the "play"
button by simply pressing a predefined shortcut key to control the media
instead of roaming the content to search for buttons to control the
video. The tool also allows users to control video replay speed, volume
and even speed up the sound since to people with visual impairment,
listening to the sound streaming video offers is painfully slow.
"The new multimedia browsing accessibility tool
will enable persons with visual impairments the opportunity to access
dynamic multimedia web content, quickly and easily. This tool is another
example of IBM Research developing innovative solutions for persons with
disabilities," said Chieko Asakawa who leads accessibility research at
IBM's Tokyo Research Laboratory
The new multimedia browsing accessibility tool can
adjust the volume of an individual source, allowing users to identify
and listen to different sound sources including screen-reading software
and the sound of a video. If a content creator wants to offer a voice
narrative to a video, the new accessibility tool provides the
flexibility of metadata, which contains a text script explaining what is
happening on screen.
The tool automatically makes adjustments to let
voice guidance synchronizes with the video, even with the speed control
capability.
"IBM has a long history of developing innovative
solutions for persons with disabilities, and the new multimedia browsing
accessibility tool is another example of IBM innovation that will
enhance the web experience for persons with visual impairments," said
Frances West, director, IBM Human Ability and Accessibility Center.
IBM plans to open source (make available for others
to help develop) the new multimedia browsing accessibility tool to
accelerate the enhancement and adoption of the tool to make multimedia
contents accessible for visually impaired.
"IBM has developed other technologies for the
visually impaired, including a talking browser and programs that help
people with visual impairments adjust font sizes and color contrast on
Web pages," reports
Information Week.
Information Source:
IBM (www.03.ibm.com/press/us/en/presskit/TechWatch.wss)
is dedicated to driving the development of promising new technologies.
The Tokyo Research Laboratory is part of IBM's globally integrated
approach to innovationa network of over 60 major software development
and research labs worldwide that develop, test and support a wide range
of emerging and established technologies that span software, systems and
services. IBM believes that these technologies have the potential to
transform the way people live and work. But they are not created in a
vacuum by IBM alone. They are increasingly the result of collaborative
innovation among IBM's R&D engagements and its customers, business
partners, universities and other parties. It is IBM's goal to bring its
renowned R&D resources closer to its customers worldwide.
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