IBM Scientists Develop Streaming Video for Visually Impaired
From: InformationWeek - 03/13/2007
By: K.C. Jones

An IBM researcher who has been blind since the age of 14 has developed a tool
that helps the visually impaired access streaming video and animation on the
Internet. Screen-reading software and self-talking browsers cannot help those
who cannot see buttons on a screen, but the IBM tool uses smart keys or
keyboard shortcuts to adjust volume and playback. Users can increase audio
speed, since audio from streaming video can seem very slow to the visually
impaired. By identifying sound sources, users can single out items such as
screen readers. The software also allows for metadata that allows users to
hear what is happening on the screen, provided the content creator includes a
voice narrative. "The new tool sits on top, so-to-speak, of a normal media
player," explains IBM Worldwide Accessibility Center director Frances West.
The tool is the first of its kind, and IBM plans to introduce it to the
company's Open Source Consortium. IBM has also developed a talking browser
and programs that allow the visually impaired to adjust font size and color
contrast on Web pages. 

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Links:
New tech clears up online picture for the blind
http://www.ibm.com/news/us/en/2007/03/2007_03_14.html

Helping the Blind "See" Internet Multimedia
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/21230.wss

Frances West
http://www-03.ibm.com/able/news/senate_support.html