Implementing accessibility in a widely distributed web based visualization and analysis platform - Weave

Abstract

Visualization tools provide authors with the ability to present large amounts of data in a way that allows the user to gain understanding of the data through a simple glance. This strategy, while useful to the sighted population, presents obvious barriers for blind or visually impaired individuals. Identifying a solution to this problem has become more vital, as ever more publicly funded agencies turn to data visualization as a tool for conveying information to the public. In this paper we present a solution based on previous research that allows a system to conduct automatic analysis of a line chart visualization to extract and then present its intended message. Previous advancements in this area, an implemented prototype of the proposed solution and a description of the platform in which it was built are presented, as well as a discussion of the implications of this research and future work.