Animated Icons as an Assistant During Interaction Between a Graphical User Interface and the Legally Blind/Partially Sighted

该项目解决了法律盲人与使用图形用户界面(GUI)的信息系统进行交互的需求。研究的重点是对描述性动画图标的研究，并开发一个框架，使图形用户界面开发人员能够更有效地解决合法盲人在设计界面布局和功能时使用的图标识别过程。在最初的研究中，PI将为视觉敏锐度在20/200到20/800之间的人所感知的动画和非动画图标确定最佳大小。这项研究将产生一个启发式方法，允许他们描述合法盲人计算机用户与图形用户界面交互的方式。然后，私人投资者将设计一个动画图标库，作为开发合法盲人可访问的图形用户界面的基础。将使用这项技术开发和评估概念验证应用程序，以便提供有关如何将动画图标适当地集成到图形用户界面以实现所述目标的信息。私人投资机构预计，作为该项目一部分开发的图标库将适用于各种应用领域，在图形用户界面中使用大小适当、描述性的动画图标将有助于越来越多的合法盲人以电子形式获取信息。

This project addresses the needs of the legally blind to interact with information systems that utilize graphical user interfaces (GUIs). The research focuses on the study of descriptive animated icons and the development of a framework to enable GUI developers to more effectively address the icon recognition process utilized by the legally blind when designing interface layout and functionality. In an initial study the PIs will determine optimal sizes for icons, animated as well as non-animated, that are perceived by individuals whose visual acuity is in the range of 20/200 to 20/800. This study will result in a heuristic that will allow them to describe the means by which legally blind computer users interact with a GUI. The PIs will then design a library of animated icons which will serve as a foundation in the development of GUIs that are accessible to the legally blind. A proof-of-concept application will be developed and evaluated using this technology, in order to provide information on how to properly integrate animated icons into a GUI to achieve the stated goals. The PIs expect the icon library developed as part of this project to be applicable to a wide variety of application domains, and that the use of properly sized, descriptive animated icons in GUIs will help the increasing legally blind population to access information in electronic form.