Student's Idea Gives Graphic Details to Visually Impaired Scientists
From: University of Reading - 03/27/2012

University of Reading student Ruth White is developing technology that will
enable visually impaired researchers to feel and hear a virtual graph. The
work aims to help visually impaired students use a low-cost haptics system to
feel the shape of graphically presented data. "People in science and
engineering subjects often need to visualize large amounts of data, but for
those who are visually impaired it would be meaningless to hear a screen
reader read out an almost endless list of numbers," White says. She first
developed the system as an undergraduate, and is now working to improve the
system as part of her final year research project, with feedback from
potential users. "Ruth has developed an excellent idea, using simple but
well-designed technology to make a real difference to the lives of fellow
students, and I congratulate her on being asked to present her idea at
Westminster," says Reading professor William Harwin. "The code she has used
is open source, so engineers and designers will be able to use and build on
her work for free, making it genuinely useful in the future."  

Read the entire article at:
https://www.reading.ac.uk/news-and-events/releases/PR440791.aspx

Link:
William Harwin
http://www.personal.reading.ac.uk/~shshawin/