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The Ultimate Accessibility Conversion System | Proposal No: 1229 | Bios & Handouts |
| Length of Session (in hours): 1-hr | Format: Lecture | Expertise Level: Intermediate | Type of session: Not provided |
Summary of Session |
| We describe the ViewPlus EmPower system enabling conversion of any static information to any desired accessible format. Input from paper or electronic documents; accessible output for text, math, and graphics. This new system is complemented by new accessible access tools for math and graphics. |
Abstract |
| EmPower is a wizard-driven system enabling people with modest training to convert paper or electronic documents to a choice of several accessible electronic formats, to braille, to large print, or to MP3. Information may include simple or structured text, math, and graphics. Consumers of this information may use standard screen readers, magnifiers, and other common access technologies. For accessing math and graphics, the standard methods may be complemented with the new ViewPlus LEAN Math interface permitting MS Word+MathType equations to be read and written, and the IVEO system for accessing audio-tactile graphics. |
John Gardner received a PhD in physics from the University of Illinois. He has been a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania and Oregon State University. He has also held visiting positions at the Technical University of Munich, University of Warwick, Imperial College, Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, University of Stuttgart, and the University of Konstanz. Oregon State was his home for 30 years as an active faculty member and where he has been Professor Emeritus since 2003. He is known as an expert on point defects in solids and several fields of experimental solid state physics. He lost his sight unexpectedly in 1988 and became interested in accessibility of complex information, including math and graphics. In 1996 he founded ViewPlus Technologies, which has grown into a multi-million dollar company producing information-access hardware and software. ViewPlus is the leading manufacturer of tactile graphics and braille embossers in the world. He has received numerous awards and has given invited presentations on both physics and information accessibility at universities and conferences on five continents.