An image-capable audio internet browser for facilitating blind user access to digital libraries

The Internet now permits widespread access to textual and pictorial material from digital libraries. The widespread use of graphical user interfaces, however, increasingly bars visually handicapped people from using such material. We present here our current work aimed at the adaptation of an Internet browser to facilitate blind user access to digital libraries. The main distinguishing characteristics of this browser are: (1) active user interaction, both for the macro-analysis and micro-analysis of screen objects of interest; (2) use of a touch-sensitive screen to facilitate user interaction; (3) generation of a virtual sound space into which the screen information is mapped; (4) transcription into sounds not only of text, but also of images. Several prototypes have been implemented, and are being evaluated by blind users