Development of a graphic description language that can be easily used by the severely visually impaired and a drawing support system using it

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K02777
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 09070:Educational technology-related
• Research Institution: Toyama Prefectural University
• Principal Investigator: Takagi Noboru 富山県立大学, 工学部, 教授 (50236197)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 福祉情報工学 / 障害者支援 / アクセシビリティ / ドメイン固有言語 / 学習支援 / 教育工学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The goal is to develop a support system that enables individuals with severe visual impairments to independently draw line diagrams, such as those found in mathematics and physics textbooks. The drawn diagrams are intended for use by sighted individuals and must be rendered with high precision.
In this study, we developed the diagram description language "vision" to enable individuals with severe visual impairments to draw precise line diagrams. Vision manages basic shapes such as line segments and circles as objects in memory, allowing for the detailed rendering of line diagrams. Additionally, we developed an interface for the tactile graphics display Graphiti to verify the drawn line diagrams. We also explored the possibility of understanding line diagrams through auditory feedback of vision code.

Free Research Field

知能情報学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の目的は，重度視覚障害者が独力で図を描画するための作図支援システムの開発である．また，晴眼の学生が使用することを前提とし，精細に描画できることを条件とするところが特徴的である．この目的を達成するために以下の三つの学術的な目標を設定した：①字句解析器及び構文解析器の開発；②図形記述言語（ドメイン固有言語）のコンパイラ開発；③作図支援システム開発とその評価．
全盲などの重度視覚障害者が社会で健常者と同等に活躍するには未だ高い障壁が存在する．本研究課題は，重度視覚障害者が独力で高精細な線図形（視覚情報）の編集を支援する技術開発への挑戦であり，彼らの社会活動の場を広げる意味で社会的意義は高い．