NSF Award
0091590
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop screen reading software (used by the visually disabled to access computers) that responds to changes in task context. The proposed software will allow screen readers to automatically generate task-specific scripts--sophisticated macros that determine the behavior of the screen reader in response to the current state of an application--based on an analysis of the user's actions while performing a specific task. The end result of this project will be a functioning prototype screen reader (based on Henter-Joyce's JAWS (Job Access With Speech) screen reader) with the ability to observe the user's actions, identify the user's goal based on those actions (referred to as plan recognition), and then either create a script that automates the task of achieving that same goal in the future or remind the user that such a script already exists. Throughout the course of the project, feedback will be sought from members of the visually impaired community through user trials, focus groups, and formal experimentation. While investigators will work exclusively with the JAWS screen reader during Phase II, many of the algorithms developed during this project will be applicable to other screen readers. The software developed will be licensed to others to improve the performance of existing and new screen readers.<br/><br/>The enhanced screen reading software will provide a number of significant benefits. First and foremost, the visually impaired will have significantly improved access to computers for both personal and job-related activities. They will be able to use computers for tasks that were previously impossible or impractical, and they will be able to perform their current activities faster and more effectively. Second, employers will be more open to employing the visually impaired because of the reduced cost in time and effort of job training and the increased level of productivity; visually impaired employees will be able to do more jobs, will be able to learn jobs faster, and will be able to do their jobs better than before.
