Sound, space, and metaphor: Multimodal access to windows for blind users (original) (raw)

As Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) are now the standard in human-computer interaction, developing alternate modes of interaction for the blind becomes increasingly important. The goals of the PC-Access project were not only to provide blind users with direct access to GUIs within existing applications but also to allow blind users to reap the benefits of direct manipulation of these interfaces. To keep up with the spread of GUI applications, commercial screen readers are being adapted to these new interfaces (ANPEA, 1996; Andrews, 1995). These screen readers provide access to some of the graphical information on the screen by using voice-synthesis or braille and keyboard commands. These non-visual interfaces generally provide a concise verbal description of graphical elements along with linear access to the screen contents through commands and tabs. Prior to forming a mental image of concepts such as spatial arrangement and elements like icons, menus, window boxes and borders, non-...