HCC: Small: Non-Visual Skimming: Improving the Usability of Web Access for Blind People

在我们这个信息驱动的网络社会中，我们都逐渐成为信息过载的受害者。但是，尽管有视力的人可以开发出快速浏览网络内容的方法，以便获得信息的要点并找到他们需要的东西，但盲人用户受到了阻碍，因为他们必须依赖功能有限的屏幕阅读器软件，通过串行音频接口使用计算机生成的语音讲述内容，这使得这些用户无法在听之前发现哪些内容是重要的。因此，他们要么听完所有内容，要么先听每句话或段落的第一部分，然后跳到下一段。PI在这个项目中的目标是通过为非视觉浏览开发新的界面和算法技术来解决这个问题，这将使视力障碍的人能够比目前使用最先进的屏幕阅读器更快地访问Web上的信息。当浏览时，有视力的人会快速浏览内容并挑选出关键字和相关短语。PI的方法是模仿这一过程，为屏幕阅读器用户提供计算机辅助的略读体验。为此，他将同时迭代地追求两个研究方向：设计用于非视觉浏览的界面，以及开发支持这些界面的算法。通过参与式设计过程，将产生用于使用标准快捷方式驱动的屏幕阅读器、基于触摸的设备和模拟触觉表面的浏览界面，同时将创建生成摘要的算法，以支持以不同的粒度和速度水平浏览各种类型的网络内容。将进行受控和现场真实世界实验，以评估所产生的界面和算法的实用性。项目成果将包括一个开源的浏览工具和带有注释和摘要的可重复使用的网页数据集。广泛影响：促进非视觉浏览的技术将改变视障用户的信息获取方式，同时也有助于自然语言处理、机器学习和网络信息检索领域。此外，这项研究将帮助我们更好地了解触摸和触觉界面的组合如何改善网站导航和浏览。虽然这项研究没有探索，但项目成果可能会被证明对其他残疾人士有用，如认知和运动障碍，它们最终也可能对视力正常的人有帮助。

In our information driven Web-based society, we are all gradually falling victims to information overload. But while sighted people can develop ways to quickly skim Web content in order to get the gist of the information and find what they need, blind users are stymied because they must rely on screen reader software with limited functionality to narrate content using computer-generated speech through a serial audio interface, which does not allow these users to find out what content is important before they listen to it. So, they either listen to all content or listen to the first part of each sentence or paragraph before skipping to the next. The PI's goal in this project is to address this problem by developing novel interfaces and algorithmic techniques for non-visual skimming that will empower people with visual impairments to access information on the Web significantly faster than is currently possible with state-of-the-art screen readers.When skimming, sighted people quickly look through content and pick out keywords and relevant phrases. The PI's approach is to emulate this process and enable a computer-assisted skimming experience for screen-reader users. To this end, he will iteratively and concurrently pursue two research directions: designing interfaces for non-visual skimming, and developing algorithms to enable these interfaces. Through a process of participatory design interfaces will be derived for skimming with standard shortcut-driven screen-readers, touch-based devices, and simulated haptic surfaces, while algorithms for generating summaries will be created to support skimming of various types of Web content at different levels of granularity and speed. Controlled and in-situ real-world experiments will be conducted to evaluate the utility of the resulting interfaces and algorithms. Project outcomes will include an open-source skimming tool and reusable datasets of Web pages with annotations and summaries.Broader Impacts: Technology to facilitate non-visual skimming will transform information access for visually impaired users while also contributing to the fields of natural language processing, machine learning, and Web information retrieval. Additionally, this research will help us better understand how a combination of touch and haptic interfaces can improve website navigation and skimming. Although not explored in this research, project outcomes will likely prove useful to people with other disabilities such as cognitive and motor impairments, and they may ultimately also be helpful to sighted people.