Adding a Single Line of Code to This JavaScript Plugin Brings a New Level of Interaction
VoxLens is a JavaScript plugin that uses an additional line of code to provide interaction with visualizations.
Interactive visualizations can be found everywhere on the internet and are often used to provide in-depth information on any given subject. For example, scrolling over a map can provide information on an area of interest or how a newly discovered exoplanet might evolve over millions of years. These visualizations are often not accessible to those who use screen readers, which allow those with visual impairments to use a computer and the internet via a synthesized voice or Braille.
Software engineers from the University of Washington are looking to change those limitations by developing VoxLens – a JavaScript plugin that uses an additional line of code to provide interaction with visualizations. VoxLens allows users to gain a detailed summary of the information described in a graph, which is translated into sound. The app also allows them to use voice commands to access additional information about the represented data.
“If I’m looking at a graph, I can pull out whatever information I am interested in, maybe it’s the overall trend or maybe it’s the maximum,” states doctoral student Ather Sharif. “Right now, screen-reader users either get very little or no information about online visualizations, which, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, can sometimes be a matter of life and death. The goal of our project is to give screen-reader users a platform where they can extract as much or as little information as they want.”
The engineers tested VoxLens using 22 volunteers who were entirely or partially blind. The subjects learned how to use the app before being tested, then completed nine tasks to answer questions about a visualization. The participants completed the tasks with 122% increased accuracy and 36% decreased interaction time compared to a controlled study. At this stage, VoxLens only works for visualizations that are created using JavaScript libraries, such as D3, chart.js or Google Sheets. But the team is working on expanding to other popular visualization platforms.