Sunday, June 29, 2008
First Accessibility Tool Lets Blind Surf The Net From Anywhere
Tool converts written text to an electronically generated voice.
Visually impaired people surf the net with the help of special screen-reading software which they install in their desktops. But they cannot use the net on the go.
A new software, called WebAnywhere, tackles this problem effectively. The tool developed at the University of Washington turns screen-reading into an Internet service that reads aloud Web text on any computer. It will run on any machine that has a sound card.
Under Richard Ladner's supervision, Jeffrey Bigham, a UW doctoral student in computer science and engineering was able to create this tool that has become the first accessibility tool to be hosted on the Web.
Usually free screen readers have to be downloaded and installed before you can use it. But in some places like public libraries or museums there could be download restrictions. Webanywhere doesn't have to be downloaded. It processes the text on an external server and then sends the audio file to play in the user's Web browser.
Because there is no installation involved, there is no need for technical support. Everytime you visit the site you get the latest version.
You can access WebAnywhere here.
Visually impaired people surf the net with the help of special screen-reading software which they install in their desktops. But they cannot use the net on the go.
A new software, called WebAnywhere, tackles this problem effectively. The tool developed at the University of Washington turns screen-reading into an Internet service that reads aloud Web text on any computer. It will run on any machine that has a sound card.
Under Richard Ladner's supervision, Jeffrey Bigham, a UW doctoral student in computer science and engineering was able to create this tool that has become the first accessibility tool to be hosted on the Web.
Usually free screen readers have to be downloaded and installed before you can use it. But in some places like public libraries or museums there could be download restrictions. Webanywhere doesn't have to be downloaded. It processes the text on an external server and then sends the audio file to play in the user's Web browser.
Because there is no installation involved, there is no need for technical support. Everytime you visit the site you get the latest version.
You can access WebAnywhere here.
Labels: Computer-Science
PermaLink - First Accessibility Tool Lets Blind Surf The Net From Anywhere posted by Vanessa : 7:18 AM
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]