CamIO in the Browser: A Cross-Platform Audio Label Tool for Tactile Graphics

For blind or low vision individuals, tactile graphics (TGs) provide essential spatial information but are restricted in the amount of data they can convey - especially semantic information, which is represented using the small amount of braille abbreviations that fit on the TG. Using computer vision, TGs can be enhanced by adding audio labels, in which audio descriptions are triggered when the user touches elements on the TG; these audio descriptions can contain unlimited amounts of semantic information and are accessible even to those who don’t read braille. Unfortunately, existing audio label systems are closed systems with severe limitations, some of which are costly and/or tied to specific hardware platforms. We address this problem by creating CamIO-Web, an open-source version of our CamIO (short for “Camera Input-Output”) audio label system, which runs in the browser of virtually any computer or mobile device. The system includes facilities that allow users to create their own TGs with any audio labels (audio recordings or Text-to-Speech), and the open-source code base makes it extensible.