No abstract

In this research we implemented three different methods for presenting scientific graphs to blind and visually impaired people. Each rendering method employed either audition, kinesthetic or a combination of those two modalities. In order to allow for distance learning, we have used low cost portable devices for the output graph rendering. The three modes of representation were then compared by three separate groups of blind and visually impaired computer users. Each group consisted of four participants. Results reveal that the combination of both audio and kinesthetic modalities can be a promising representation medium of common scientific graphs for visually challenged people.

No abstract

Existing drawing tools for blind users give inadequate contextual feedback on the state of the drawing, leaving blind users unable to comprehend and successfully produce graphical information. We have investigated a tactile method of drawing used by blind users that mimics drawing with a pencil and a paper. Our study revealed a set of properties that must be incorporated into drawing tools for blind users, including giving feedback for relocating important points, determining angles, and communicating the overall structure of the drawing. We describe a gridbased model that provides these properties in a primitivebased 2D graphics environment, and we introduce its use in drawing and other graphical interactions.