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IntroductionFor those who are blind, partially sighted or have cognitive disabilities, document accessibility has traditionally been a compromise over documents for a sighted counterpart. Printed documents arrive in the mail or are readily available to those who are sighted, but when a person with a print disability wishes to read a document, an untimely conversion process is traditionally required or assistance is needed. With the advent of Smartphones and apps, this has now changed.
The Impact of Mobile ComputingMobile computing is the latest trend for smartphones and computing. This holds true for accessibility and more specifically for document accessibility. What if I could tell you that paper, packaging or signs can be made accessible by the use of mobile technology and a bar code? This could be a breakthrough for folks who are blind, partially sighted or have cognitive disabilities. This would mean that accessibility could be mobile, and the use of a ubiquitous technology could provide access to anyone, anywhere, anytime to read traditional print when a barcode is printed as a complementary accessibility tool.
As we move into the future of mobile computing, the smartphone will play an increasing role in all of our lives and the smartphone or tablet will be the center as an assistive technology for accessible document consumption. With upcoming and on-going changes to accessibility regulations there is increasing demand for accessible documents for the blind, partially sighted, or those with cognitive disabilities.
Alternate Format Documents
Traditionally, document accessibility meant providing alternate format documents in one format like uncontracted Braille, or contracted Braille or Large Print, e-Text or Audio. As print disabled users have varying preferences and abilities to consume documents, there was never one format that could be applied to many users. For example, a person who was born blind may have learned to read Braille but a person who has diminishing vision later in life may never learn to read Braille, and may consume a document via audio or even large print.
For each of the physical formats the user depends heavily on remediation, or taking a traditional print or electronically composed document and either remediating or transcribing them into a traditional alternate format. This essentially was a second step. It takes additional time to convert from one format to another by an alternate format expert. For physical formats such as Braille, Large Print, e-Text or Audio, this meant a post process that required post document production labor to either manually remediate or automate the conversion process. Documents could normally be provided days to weeks later, which can be untimely.
Smart Phones and VoiceyeA smart phone with a camera and an accessibility app such as Voiceye is able to read a barcode that has been encoded with the contents of a page and then printed on the page. The exact contents of the page are encoded into the barcode, ensuring 100% fidelity versus alternate optical character recognition apps. The document is rendered in a logical reading order and information in tables in the printed version is structured so the end user understands the content and the context of the information properly. To ensure effective navigations, the headings for each column are read.
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A smart phone with a Voiceye app has the ability to scan a 2 dimensional (2D) barcode, process the encoding, provide an audio voice, convert to large print and provide options to connect to a refreshable Braille display for immediate access to a document or a sign’s content. This solution offers users a wide range of options for reading the page content rather than a specific format that does not fit each person’s ability.
Voiceye was developed in Korea and released in 2013. The 2D barcode was originally developed and used in 2005 onward for civil complaint documents that were issued with specific origin data and a digital signature that ensured the security and integrity of a document. The barcode is a highly dense algorithm of information stored in a glyph like barcode that holds ten times the capacity of data versus a typical QR code.
Voiceye BenefitsThe main focus on the use of Voiceye is to provide accessibility anytime and anywhere. With 80% of individuals who are print disabled and read large print, the ability to read content by audio or large print on a tablet or a smartphone gives them instantaneous access. For individuals that read Braille, the user can choose to listen to the audio, or if they have a Bluetooth connected refreshable Braille display, Voiceye allows them to read the content on their display. For individuals that use audio, waiting for an .MP3 file or a CD to arrive is just not timely. With Voiceye,enabling the smart phone’s accessibility option allows for direct read back instead of needing to download a large MP3 file or wait for a CD to be mailed.
Print Provider BenefitsFor the print producer, this solution allows printers to encode pages, documents and packaging for no additional print costs while printing. Voiceye requires that a small half inch by half inch barcode be added to a typical letter sized sheet of paper. For signs or packaging, a barcode can easily be incorporated, allowing a user to scan and provide immediate read back.
Print providers can choose to add barcodes on documents that are transaction based or personalized system output using Crawford Technologies Voiceye Maker for Operations Express. Crawford Technologies has integrated this innovative technology into its tool set. Combined with our tagging tool, PRO Designer, this tool allows documents to be set up in critical read order and tagged like an accessible PDF when setting up a master accessibility configuration file. Our tool allows a person to set up a variable and personalized document for a Voiceye barcode. Then as each transaction document is processed directly from the original print description file – PDF, AFP, PCL, ASCII, EBCDIC, XML etc, it places the 2D barcode onto the document when produced for print output or for an electronic file such as a PDF or accessible PDF. With all the information already encoded in the print description language, it ensures 100% accuracy in the content that is encoded in the barcode.
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Applications can include bills, invoices, wealth statements, banking statements, insurance policies and health documents and any structured system output. This can include mission critical information generated for key labelling systems like prescriptions for pharmaceuticals. Prescriptions typically have critical drug information, dosing instructions, drug interaction and prescription history information. A barcode can be used to manage this information and allow a patient to ensure that drug instructions and warnings about over dosing, drug intermingling or side-effects are understood and can be followed.
For billing and information systems, Voiceye Maker for Operations Express can be installed in between the output print device and the information management system to provide accessible barcode output. This solution can encode and lay down barcodes at hundreds to thousands of pages per second.
For one-off static documents like publications, brochure ware, packaging, forms or reports, Voiceye has solutions for MS-Word documents, Adobe InDesign, and even Quark xPress, allowing documents to be authored and encoded.
How Voiceye WorksOnce the barcode has been placed on a document, each page will carry a unique barcode, printed on the top right corner for ease of location. A person who is completely blind will be able to find the intersection of the short edge and long edge of the paper and with the app’s scanning function turned on, the app will audibly help navigate the user to the barcode for positioning and scanning.
Once scanned, based on the user preference, the system will “display” the document in Large Print, Large Print high contrast or if accessibility on the smart phone or tablet is turned on, then the document will be read back using audio or to be sent to a Bluetooth enabled refreshable Braille display.
For a print service provider and for those that are distributing paper documents that need to be accessible, this is a quick way to provide accessible documents.
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Making Paper AccessibleHere are the benefits of using Voiceye Maker for Operations Express to make paper accessible:
y When printed on all documents, this provides the best customer experience without the need for a client to disclose their handicap – every page of all documents is accessible.
y This solution is highly portable. Paper can be read at the same time a sighted person receives their documents or reads text content, withno need to remediate or transcribe a printed document into an alternate format.
y Printing the barcode is done at the same time that the documents contents are printed. The only requirement is the document being printed must be printed at 600 dpi.
y With the purchase of Voiceye Maker for Operations Express, this solution not only gives print providers the capability of producing high volume accessible transaction documents at high speed, but when installed in between Information Management Systems and output devices, output can be driven at the point of sale or at the point of manufacturing.
y Large print output can be adjusted to 10 different zoom levels and can be output in five contrast levels.
y Based on Webaim surveys, 82% of blind, partially sighted or those with cognitive disabilities already use and /or own a smartphone to read email or surf the web. 1
The use of the Voiceye barcode has unlimited potential - from accessibility, to fraud prevention and encoding, fingerprinting content for verification, and print production. It can perform what a typical QR code can while handling encoding a significantly higher amount of information. When we look at applications, information application such as paper based forms can be read back, disclosures can be easily provided for consumption, and landmarks or even displays such as in a museum can be narrated to the user.
One thing that the Voiceye app also allows is for immediate translation through Google Translate. With a simple tap of the translate button in the Voiceye app, content can be translated
1 http://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey5/#intro Screen Reader User Survey #5 Results: January 2014
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from one language to another. As the app allows for navigation via accessible voice prompts, a print disabled person can use Siri, finger gestures, or listen to the audible prompts to convert languages.
Today, Voiceye is used extensively in Korea for certificates, court decisions, drug prescriptions, government documents and on transaction invoice and bills. Many are using the Voiceye barcode to provide accessible text books, books and documents.
Its main challenge will be to gain critical uptake around the world and have more users adopt its use and functionality. As mentioned earlier, it offers an unsurpassed number of options for voice-over, large print and output to a refreshable Braille display.
The Voiceye app is freely downloaded from the App store for Apple iOS and available in Google Play for Android based smartphones or tablets.
With the use of Voiceye combined with Accessible PDF, a document becomes fully accessible to the widest range of users. Combining both capabilities ensures paper output and electronic output will make documents accessible both on-line and through paper physical consumption.
CrawfordTech Solutions
Crawford Technologies develops software and solutions to help enterprises optimize and improve the secure and accessible delivery, storage and presentment of their customer communications.
With over 1,800 customers on six continents, CrawfordTech solutions and know-how enable the largest banks, insurers, healthcare providers, utilities and print services companies to use their existing technologies, documents and data in new ways. We help them navigate the challenges in leveraging legacy applications in the platforms and applications of the future.
CrawfordTech’s products, services and domain expertise reside at the nexus of content, data, and output management and are essential components of our customers’ digital transformation, output management and document accessibility strategies.
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