Jessie Park<\/p>\n
Online information needs to be made more accessible for visually impaired users, especially in a time where virtual spaces are used more than ever \u2013 that’s the mission behind Guy Meyer\u2019s research.<\/p>\n
During\u00a0Meyer’s\u00a0final year\u00a0as a\u00a0Mechatronics Engineering\u00a0student\u00a0in 2017,\u00a0he\u00a0became passionate about advancing\u00a0technologies\u00a0for people with\u00a0visual impairments\u00a0after\u00a0Dr. Kourosh Sabri,\u00a0an ophthalmologist\u00a0from the Faculty of Health Sciences,\u00a0visited his\u00a0capstone class to speak about the challenges\u00a0faced by\u00a0his patients.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccess to information is a right,\u201d says Meyer. \u201cI wanted the focus of my work to be developing tools for the masses where inclusivity is the priority, and not an afterthought.\u201d<\/p>\n
This\u00a0drive\u00a0led Meyer to pursue his Master\u2019s in Computing and Software, where he\u2019d\u00a0deep dive\u00a0into the world of assistive devices for\u00a0web\u00a0navigation.\u00a0Over\u00a0the last two years, he\u00a0focused\u00a0on search engines and\u00a0developed\u00a0SerpUI\u00a0\u2013 Search Engine Results Page User Interface,\u00a0a\u00a0free search engine tool that simplifies the Google search engine interface.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to create a new tool that would improve the user experience of\u00a0someone who is visually impaired,\u00a0by making it faster and easier to navigate the web,\u201d says Meyer, who recently completed his master\u2019s program\u00a0with guidance from Dr. Alan\u00a0Wassyng, Dr. Mark Lawford,\u00a0Dr Shahram Shirani\u00a0and Dr. Sabri.\u00a0\u201cThis is\u00a0especially important now that most teaching and learning is happening in virtual spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meyer is now collaborating with Dr. Sabri\u00a0to develop a tool that would allow eye assessments to be completed by physicians remotely from patients\u2019 homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe ended up developing a remote testing room, where the patient would see a blank screen on their computer and Dr. Sabri could dispatch tests and assess them\u00a0virtually,\u201d Meyer says.\u00a0\u201cThere\u2019s so much potential to\u00a0a technology like this, both for visually impaired people and the professionals who care for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
SerpUI\u00a0is designed to minimize the steps needed for a visually impaired user to make a simple search on Google.\u00a0The user\u00a0speaks into their computer\u2019s microphone\u00a0describing what they want\u00a0to search on Google,\u00a0while\u00a0a real-time speech-to-text algorithm\u00a0powered by Google Cloud Services prompts the user to verify their search item.\u00a0The background will then change to a vibrant blue and\u00a0the user will hear\u00a0a loud \u201cDing\u201d sound\u00a0once the search item is successfully submitted.<\/p>\n
Then, the user is redirected to\u00a0SerpUI\u00a0where the Google search results are presented in high contrast with interactive audio feedback.\u00a0To flip through results, the user can either use their keyboard or a Nintendo\u00a0JoyCon\u00a0controller connected via Bluetooth.<\/p>\n
\u201cGreat designs tend to impress us by their simplicity,\u201d says\u00a0Dr. Wassyng, one of Meyer\u2019s supervisors on\u00a0SerpUI.\u00a0\u201cGuy succeeded in\u00a0taking\u00a0a complex task that depends on the user’s ability to follow visual\u00a0clues and\u00a0making it\u00a0simple\u00a0and\u00a0predictable enough\u00a0for\u00a0visually impaired kids\u00a0to\u00a0use. They can use this solution\u00a0to perform complex tasks that may otherwise be much more difficult for them.\u201d<\/p>\n