Generative AI (GenAI) tools are increasingly used for spreadsheet tasks, yet little is known about how blind users verify their outputs in accuracy-critical contexts. We conducted a study with 12 blind spreadsheet users to explore verification practices across tasks such as information extraction, formula generation, trend analysis, chart creation, and formatting. Participants never fully trusted outputs without verification and employed diverse strategies, including manual checks with screen reader and spreadsheet features, same AI-assisted verification, cross-AI tool validation, leveraging prior knowledge, and human assistance. These approaches were adapted based on task context, perceived risk, and users’ expertise. Errors were common, particularly in chart generation and formatting, some detected, others overlooked. While verification improved confidence, it was often effortful, time-consuming, or infeasible for visual tasks. We discuss how blind users utilize GenAI not only as a task performer but also as a verification aid and validator, highlighting design opportunities for more accessible and reliable spreadsheet use.

Productivity applications including word processors, spreadsheets, and presentation tools are crucial in work, education, and personal settings. Blind users typically access these tools via screen readers (SRs) and face significant accessibility and usability challenges. Recent advancements in Generative AI (GenAI) may address these challenges by enabling natural language interactions and contextual task understanding. However, there is limited understanding of SR users' needs and attitudes toward GenAI assistance in these applications. We surveyed 99 SR users to gain a holistic understanding of the challenges they face when using productivity applications, the impact of these challenges on their productivity and independence, and their initial perceptions of AI assistance. Driven by their enthusiasm, we conducted interviews with 16 SR users to explore their attitudes toward GenAI and its potential usefulness in productivity applications. Our findings highlight its need to support existing SR workflows and the importance of enabling customization and task verification.

Independent travel and navigation in new environments, in particular multi-storey buildings, is a major challenge for people who are blind or have low vision (BLV). Using tactile maps as part of orientation and mobility (O&M) training, BLV people can build a cognitive map of an environment before visiting. Tactile maps of multi-level environments, however, have received little attention. We investigated the usefulness of 3D printed models of buildings, through a user study with nine BLV adults. Three designs were evaluated: flat, overlapped-sliding and overlapped-rotating. All three designs were reported to be useful, usable, engaging and allowed participants to build a cognitive map of the building. There was a strong user preference for the overlapped presentations, which were reported to be more effective in supporting cross-floor spatial knowledge. This exploration of the design space of 3D building plans demonstrates their value and we hope will encourage their provision in O&M training.

People who are blind rely on touch and hearing to understand the world around them, however it is extremely difficult to understand movement through these modes. The advent of refreshable tactile displays (RTDs) offers the potential for blind people to access tactile animations for the very first time. A survey of touch readers and vision accessibility experts revealed a high level of enthusiasm for tactile animations, particularly those relating to education, mapping and concept development. Based on these suggestions, a range of tactile animations were developed and four were presented to 12 touch readers. The RTD held advantages over traditional tactile graphics for conveying movement, depth and height, however there were trade-offs in terms of resolution and textural properties. This work offers a first glimpse into how refreshable tactile displays can best be utilised to convey animated graphics for people who are blind.

Data visualisations are increasingly used online to engage readers and enable independent analysis of the data underlying news stories. However, access to such infographics is problematic for readers who are blind or have low vision (BLV). Equitable access to information is a basic human right and essential for independence and inclusion. We introduce infosonics, the audio equivalent of infographics, as a new style of interactive sonification that uses a spoken introduction and annotation, non-speech audio and sound design elements to present data in an understandable and engaging way. A controlled user evaluation with 18 BLV adults found a COVID-19 infosonic enabled a clearer mental image than a traditional sonification. Further, infosonics prove complementary to text descriptions and facilitate independent understanding of the data. Based on our findings, we provide preliminary suggestions for infosonics design, which we hope will enable BLV people to gain equitable access to online news and information.

This paper presents a systematic literature review of 292 publications from 97 unique venues on touch-based graphics for people who are blind or have low vision, from 2010 to mid-2020. It is the first review of its kind on touch-based accessible graphics. It is timely because it allows us to assess the impact of new technologies such as commodity 3D printing and low-cost electronics on the production and presentation of accessible graphics. As expected our review shows an increase in publications from 2014 that we can attribute to these developments. It also reveals the need to: broaden application areas, especially to the workplace; broaden end-user participation throughout the full design process; and conduct more in situ evaluation. This work is linked to an online living resource to be shared with the wider community.

Eyes-free operation of mobile devices is critical in situations where the visual channel is either unavailable or attention is needed elsewhere. In such situations, vibrotactile tracing along paths or lines can help users to navigate and identify symbols and shapes without visual information. In this paper, we investigated the applicability of different metrics that can measure the effectiveness of vibrotactile line tracing methods on touch screens. In two user studies, we compare trace Length Error, Area Error, and Fréchet Distance as alternatives to commonly used trace Time. Our results show that a lower Fréchet distance is correlated better with the comprehension of a line trace. Furthermore, we show that distinct feedback methods perform differently with varying geometric features in lines and propose a segmented line design for tactile line tracing studies. We believe the results will inform future designs of eyes-free operation techniques and studies.

We present an autoethnographic study of an independent blind traveller, Kate. It recounts her preparation for a 28-day cruise and then her experience onboard the ship. Her planning notes, field notes and travel diary were analysed in terms of five main themes: information access, orientation and mobility, tools and technology, cultural and societal issues, and person-centred issues. This analysis provides a deeply personal account of the barriers–in particular information access, orientation and mobility and staff attitudes–that she faced, as well as the skills and tools that she used to overcome these. A particular focus is Kate’s use of technologies to access visual information and the provision of accessible maps and models before the trip to help her build a cognitive map of the ship’s layout.

Visualisations are commonly used to understand social, biological and other kinds of networks. Currently we do not know how to effectively present network data to people who are blind or have low-vision (BLV). We ran a controlled study with 8 BLV participants comparing four tactile representations: organic node-link diagram, grid node-link diagram, adjacency matrix and braille list. We found that the node-link representations were preferred and more effective for path following and cluster identification while the matrix and list were better for adjacency tasks. This is broadly in line with findings for the corresponding visual representations.

Access to information is a fundamental problem for people with vision impairment (PVI). Textual information are considerably more accessible with the use of screen readers that work on desktop and mobile devices. However, access to graphical information is still a challenging problem. There are different technologies to present graphics to PVI, but almost all of them suffer from practicality and portability. This paper describes the GraVVITAS (Graphics Viewer using Vibration Interactive Touch and Speech) framework which aims to be a complementary system for other assistive technologies; a solution that can be carried in one's pocket.

We present a new approach for providing mathematical and statistical graphics to people who are blind or have severe vision impairment and describe the implementation and initial evaluation of an accessible graphing calculator, GraCALC. GraCALC automatically creates a graphic from a specification of the function or a tabular data using a web based service. The graphic is then presented on a touch device, and a mixture of speech, non-speech audio and optional tactile feedback are provided to allow the users explore the screen. An overview containing a sonification of the graphic and a description similar to that created by a human transcriber is also automatically generated so as to help the user in their initial navigation.

We present a new model for presenting graphics in eBooks to blind readers. It is based on the GraViewer app which allows an accessible graphic embedded in an iBook to be explored on an iPad using speech and non-speech audio feedback. We also introduce a web-based tool, GraAuthor, for creating such accessible graphics and describe the workflow for including these in an iBook. Unlike previous approaches our model provides an integrated digital presentation of both text and graphics and allows the general public to create accessible graphics.

Better access to on-line information graphics is a pressing need for people who are blind or have severe vision impairment. We present a new model for accessible presentation of on-line information graphics and demonstrate its use for presenting floor plans. While floor plans are increasingly provided on-line, people who are blind are at best provided with only a high-level textual description. This makes it difficult for them to understand the spatial arrangement of the objects on the floor plan. Our new approach provides users with significantly better access to such plans. The users can automatically generate an accessible version of a floor plan from an on-line floor plan image quickly and independently by using a web service. This generates a simplified graphic showing the rooms, walls, doors and windows in the original floor plan as well as a textual overview. The accessible floor plan is presented on an iPad using audio feedback. As the users touch graphic elements on the screen, the element they are touching is described by speech and non-speech audio in order to help them navigate the graphic.

We investigate the cognitive impact of various layout features-symmetry, alignment, collinearity, axis alignment and orthogonality - on the recall of network diagrams (graphs). This provides insight into how people internalize these diagrams and what features should or shouldn't be utilised when designing static and interactive network-based visualisations. Participants were asked to study, remember, and draw a series of small network diagrams, each drawn to emphasise a particular visual feature. The visual features were based on existing theories of perception, and the task enabled visual processing at the visceral level only. Our results strongly support the importance of visual features such as symmetry, collinearity and orthogonality, while not showing any significant impact for node-alignment or parallel edges.

We have implemented a Java application that automatically generates tactile bar and pie charts from data values given in a formatted text file. The tool is designed to semi-automate the construction of tactile versions of bar and pie charts in educational material. The tool provides a wide variety of layout styles. While the tool allows the user to fine tune the layout, the generated SVG diagram can also be modified in a standard diagram editor.