Accessible Image Captioning for 360° Virtual Tour Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users with visual impairments face challenges in navigating online virtual tours and traditional image captions are ineffective for providing navigation information.
Innovation Solution
Divide images into sections, generate a calibration map, overlay captions with navigation information, and enable users to navigate using accessibility mode, allowing for audio output of captions based on user interaction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If traditional image captions are used to describe images, then image description is provided, but navigation information is not provided and users with visual impairments cannot navigate virtual tours
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the image into multiple sections (e.g., four quadrants) and associates each section with specific navigation information. This segmentation allows the captioning system to provide both descriptive content and directional guidance (front, back, left, right) for each section, enabling users to understand both what they are seeing and how to navigate to it.
Solution Approach 2:
The captioning system is designed to serve multiple functions simultaneously: it provides descriptive captions for image content, navigation instructions for moving through the virtual tour, and spatial orientation information. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate navigation systems and integrates accessibility features directly into the captioning process.
2Loss of information
If images are divided into multiple sections with calibration maps and captions, then navigation and description information is provided, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically dividing images into sections and generating calibration maps before the user interacts with the content. The captioning system pre-processes images by creating section boundaries and associating navigation information with each section, so that when users enable accessibility mode, the structure is already in place and ready for immediate use without requiring complex real-time processing.
3Ease of operation
If accessibility mode is enabled with keyboard navigation, then users with visual impairments can navigate sections, but interaction complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables users with visual impairments to independently navigate the virtual tour using keyboard controls without requiring assistance from sighted users. The Tab key navigation automatically moves between sections, and screen readers automatically announce captions and navigation information, providing a self-sufficient accessibility experience that does not burden users with complex interaction procedures.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems and computer readable media for accessible image captioning and navigation, are described.