Access to scientific and technical documents for visually impaired people – AcceSciTech

The AcceSciTech project addresses the challenges faced in providing access to scientific and technical literature for the visually impaired and, more broadly, for those who are not able to read conventional print. In this context, scientific and technical literature refers to all written text (articles, handouts, transparencies, books, etc.) that include complex elements such as mathematical formulae, graphs, charts, diagrams, notes, etc.

These documents can cover both "exact sciences" and social sciences, and be of university level or aimed at the general public.

Visually impaired readers access text in a number of ways: by touch through the use of Braille (either as static text printed on paper or dynamic text generated by a Braille terminal); by listening to text read by a narrator or a speech synthesiser; or by sight through large print (either on paper or on screen). These different means of accessing information are not exclusive: a student, for example, may find it useful to learn to read a sentence in Braille while listening to the same sentence.

A good way to provide synchronised and simultaneous access to a document through a number of different modes of presentation is to use a format that separates the content of the document from the way it is presented. To make a document easy to read, it is also necessary to adopt a fine structure that will enable, for example, the user to navigate from section to section or from chapter to chapter with ease, or to opt whether or not to read certain elements such as footnotes.

In order to address problems associated with accessing scientific and technical literature, the following questions may be asked:
- How can one efficiently produce highly structured documents that originate from various sources (scans, PDF or LaTeX files provided by an editor, etc.)?
- For documents containing many images, in which editorial environment should experts be invited to provide descriptions as and when the user needs them?
- How can a visually impaired student with limited computer skills access a mathematics textbook with ease?
- How does one translate a mathematical formula into spoken word?
- How can one read and navigate with ease in a complex document using a Braille terminal?

In France, the law grants approved organisations the right to ask editors to provide source files used in the production of printed works subject to copyright, so that they may be adapted and distributed to people with disabilities.

In order to take advantage of this favourable legal environment, an optimal technical environment that will facilitate and increase the production of accessible texts must be created.

The AcceSciTech project proposes to do this, in the context of scientific and technical literature, through the implementation of such formats as DAISY, EPUB and MathML.

AcceSciTech also addresses issues related to publishing, by providing a collaborative environment dedicated to adapting books, and issues related to the presentation of and interaction with documents on a portable Braille notebook.