GUIB - Graphical User Interfaces for Blind Persons
Years: 1992-1995
Partners: IFAC-CNR; Institute of Computer Science-FORTH, Greece; Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium; Department of Computer Science-FUB, Germany; Institute of Telecommunications-TUB, Germany; IFI, University of Stuttgart, Germany; VTT, Finland; RNIB, England; F. H. Papenmeier GmbH&Co, KG, Germany.
Description: The TIDE-GUIB projects aimed to identify and provide the technological means to ensure continued access by blind users to the same computer-based interactive applications used by sighted users. Specific developments were carried out through the implementation of appropriate demonstrators enabling access to MS-WINDOWS (PCs) and to interactive applications built on top of the X WINDOW SYSTEM. The GUIB approach was based on a transformation of the desktop metaphor to a non-visual version combining Braille, speech and non-speech audio. Access to basic graphical interaction objects, utilisation of the most important interaction methods, and extraction of internal information from the graphical environment were investigated. The system supports the specification of alternative output media for the various graphical interaction objects. The supported output media for non-visual interaction include speech and non-speech auditory cues, and Braille output. Input operations can be performed either by means of standard devices or through special devices (i.e., mouse substitutes, touch pad and routing keys of Braille device).
