NSF Convergence Accelerator Track H: Addressing the Fragmented Information Access Problem - A Community-Driven, AI-Powered Platform for Inclusive, Multimodal Content Creation

想象一下，试着在没有看到的情况下学习图形。缺乏视觉内容是当今失明和低视力(BLV)患者面临的最紧迫、最持久的挑战之一。在最好的情况下，患有BLV的人可以通过屏幕阅读器、基于触摸的媒体或其他使用声音和触摸的工具访问图形-但这些解决方案中的许多都需要另一个有视力的人来创建替代格式。缺乏可获得性和独立性是无障碍生态系统支离破碎的结果，这导致在教育程度、全职就业和独立性方面存在令人不安的差距。这项工作汇聚了孤立生态系统中的合作伙伴，以改变我们创建和消费可视内容的方式，使所有人都可以访问它，而不受视觉状态的影响。通过合作伙伴关系，融合了辅助技术、教育领域领先的内容提供商和数据可视化工具、深入社区的道路和真实的测试地点的专业知识，该团队将开发Includsio，这是一种端到端软件辅助解决方案，使任何人都可以找到并创建可访问的内容，并在他们喜欢的媒体上使用它。推动Includsio的三个关键原则：内容平台、使用人工智能(AI)的自动转换功能，以及一个可访问的创作套件。Emersio背后的核心理念是，该平台可以接受多种输入数据格式，并在主流平台(移动和网络应用程序)和使用率最高的辅助平台(盲文和触觉压纹机、多模式触摸板和可刷新的触觉显示器)之间输出。在第二阶段，团队将构建内容平台的核心基础设施，以托管社区中使用率最高的内容，使其能够跨多个输出平台进行互操作。该团队还将构建人工智能和自动化能力，以减少创建请求最高的图形所需的时间，同时通过可访问的创作套件，实现基于最佳实践和标准的人在环中创建和内容优化。在设计和开发的每个阶段，我们在我们的内部团队、我们的合作学校和合作组织网站上使用迭代、快速的用户测试，覆盖了200多名BLV患者、视力障碍学生的教师和领先的内容提供商。在第二阶段结束时，该团队将推出Includsio，开创无障碍新时代。Includsio不仅仅是一个尖端工具；它将重塑整个生态系统，不仅影响患有BLV的个人，还影响更广泛的残疾人社区，创造一个所有内容都可以无缝适应个人需求的未来。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Imagine trying to learn about a graphic without seeing it. Lack of access to visual content is one of the most pressing, persistent challenges facing individuals with blindness and low vision (BLV) today. In the best case scenario, an individual with BLV accesses graphics through screen readers, touch-based mediums, or other tools that use sound and touch - but many of these solutions require another sighted individual to create the alternative formats. This lack of access and independence is the result of a fragmented accessibility ecosystem, which leads to troubling disparities in educational attainment, full-time employment, and independence. This work converges partners from across the siloed ecosystem to change the way we create and consume visual content, making it accessible for all people, independent of visual status. Through partnerships converging expertise from industry leaders in assistive technology, leading content providers and data visualization tools in education, deep in-roads into the community, and authentic testing sites, the team will develop Inclusio, an end-to-end software accessibility solution that enables anyone to find and create accessible content and to consume it in their preferred mediums.Three key tenets drive Inclusio: a content platform, automated conversion capabilities using artificial intelligence (AI), and an accessible authoring suite. The core idea behind Inclusio is that the platform can take in multiple input data formats and output it across both mainstream platforms (mobile and web applications) and the most highly used assistive platforms (braille and tactile embossers, multimodal touchpads, and refreshable tactile displays). In Phase II, the team will build out the core infrastructure of the content platform to host the most highly used content in the community, making it interoperable across multiple output platforms. The team will also build out AI and automation capabilities to reduce the time required to create the most highly requested graphics, while enabling human-in-the-loop creation and content optimization, rooted in best practices and standards, through an accessible authoring suite. Throughout every stage of design and development, we employ iterative, rapid user testing across our internal team, our partner schools, and partner organization sites, reaching over 200 individuals with BLV, teachers of students with visual impairments, and leading content providers. At the end of Phase II, the team will launch Inclusio, pioneering a new era of accessibility. Inclusio is more than a cutting-edge tool; it will reshape an entire ecosystem, impacting not only individuals with BLV but also the broader persons with disabilities community, creating a future where all content seamlessly adapts to individual needs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.