[Electronics-Talk] FW: [GTTsupport] Researchers Develop New Voice Assistant making Web Browsing Easier …

[Eric Calhoun]

Original Message: 
From: "Albert Ruel" <albert.gtt at ccbnational.net>
To: GTTsupport at groups.io
Subject: [GTTsupport] Researchers Develop New Voice Assistant making Web
Browsing Easier.
Date: 
Fri, 23 Aug 2019 10:34:24 -0700

Researchers Develop New Voice Assistant making Web Browsing Easier for
the Blind and Visually Impaired
Author: Nelson Régo
Date Written: Aug 23, 2019 at 1:06 AM
Date Saved: 8/23/19, 10:33 AM
Source:
https://coolblindtech.com/researchers-develop-new-voice-assistant-making-web-
browsing-easier-for-the-blind-and-visually-impaired/
Researchers have developed a new voice assistant that allows people with
visual impairments to get web content as quickly and as effortlessly as
possible from smart speakers and similar devices.
In a new study, led by University of Waterloo Faculty of Mathematics
student, Alexandra Vtyurina, who collaborated with Microsoft researchers
and the University of Washington's Assistant Professor, Leah Findlater, a
way was found to merge the best elements of voice assistants with screen
readers to create a tool that makes free-form web searches easier. The tool
is called Voice Exploration, Retrieval, and Search (VERSE).
"People with visual impairments often rely on screen readers, and
increasingly voice-based virtual assistants, when interacting with computer
systems," said Vtyurina, a PhD candidate in Waterloo's David R. Cheriton
School of Computer Science, who undertook the study during her internship
at Microsoft Research. "Virtual assistants are convenient and accessible
but lack the ability to deeply engage with content, such as read beyond the
first few sentences of an article, list alternative search results and
suggestions. In contrast, screen readers allow for deep engagement with
accessible content, and provide fine-grained navigation and control, but at
the cost of reduced walk-up-and-use convenience.
"Our prototype, VERSE, adds screen reader-like capabilities to virtual
assistants, and allows other devices, such as smartwatches to serve as
input accelerators to smart speakers."
The primary input method for VERSE is voice; so, users can say "next,"
"previous," "go back" or "go forward."" VERSE can also be paired with an
app, which runs on a smartphone or a smartwatch. These devices can serve as
input accelerators, similar to keyboard shortcuts. For example, rotating
the crown on a smartwatch advances VERSE to the next search result,
section, or paragraph, depending on the navigation mode.

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In the study, 53 visually impaired web searchers were surveyed. More than
half of the respondents reported using voice assistants multiple times a
day, and a vast range of devices, such as, smart speakers, phones, and
smart TVs.
The data collected from the survey was used to inform the design of a
prototype of VERSE after which a user study was conducted to gather
feedback.
"At the outset, VERSE resembles other virtual assistants, as the tool
allows people to ask a question and have it answered verbally with a word,
phrase or passage," said Vtyurina. "VERSE is differentiated by what happens
next. If people need more information, they can use VERSE to access other
search verticals, for example, news, facts, and related searches, and can
visit any article that appears as a search result.
"For articles, VERSE showcases its screen reader superpowers by allowing
people to navigate along words, sentences, paragraphs, or sections."
The study, titled VERSE: Bridging Screen Readers and Voice Assistants for
Enhanced Eyes-Free Web Search, authored by Vtyurina, Findlater, and
Microsoft researchers Adam Fourney, Meredith Ringel Morris and Ryen W.
White, will be presented at the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference
on Computers and Accessibility to be held in Pittsburgh, USA October 28-30,
2019.
Source: University of Waterloo



Thx, Albert

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