Hierarchical Screen Reader Navigation With Cascading Summaries
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies fail to efficiently navigate and render hierarchical data structures for screen reader users (SUs) due to inconsistent website designs, information overload, and lack of efficient navigation techniques, specifically affecting screen reader users (SUs) in various fields, specifically affecting screen reader users (SRUs), and lack of standardization, hinder the technical problem.
Innovation Solution
Implement hierarchical interfaces for screen reader users (SRUs), organizing content of digital content item(s) into leaf nodes of a hierarchical data structure, and populating higher level nodes with generalized and/or broad, cascading summarizations of the leaf nodes' and/or intermediate branch nodes' contents, using generative models to generate summaries and facilitate efficient interaction and navigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If screen reader users navigate through website content sequentially using traditional screen readers, then they can access all content, but the navigation time and information processing time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments website content into a hierarchical tree structure with main topics, subtopics, and individual content elements. This segmentation allows screen reader users to navigate through organized sections rather than sequentially processing every element, significantly reducing navigation time while maintaining access to all content through the structured hierarchy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a hierarchical dimension to linear screen reader navigation by organizing content into multiple levels (main topics, subtopics, content elements). Users can navigate vertically through hierarchy levels and horizontally within each level, transforming the single-dimensional sequential navigation into a multi-dimensional navigation system that reduces time loss.
2Loss of information
If screen reader users access detailed content elements sequentially, then they receive complete information, but information overload occurs due to inability to overview content structure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments information into hierarchical levels where main topics provide overview, subtopics provide intermediate structure, and content elements provide detailed information. Users can selectively access different levels based on their needs, receiving complete information when necessary while avoiding information overload by stopping at appropriate hierarchy levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent generates summaries of content elements and organizes them hierarchically before user interaction. This preliminary organization allows users to quickly overview the content structure and identify relevant sections before accessing detailed information, reducing information processing complexity while maintaining information completeness.
3Adaptability or versatility
If websites use inconsistent navigation structures and semantic markup, then they can accommodate diverse design requirements, but screen reader users face confusion and must relearn interaction patterns with each site
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal hierarchical navigation structure that works across different website designs and content types. By organizing any website content into the standard tree structure with main topics, subtopics, and content elements, the system provides consistent navigation patterns regardless of the original website design, making screen reader interaction predictable and learnable across diverse sites.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a hierarchical structure layer as an intermediary between the diverse website content and the screen reader user. This intermediate representation standardizes the presentation of information, translating various website navigation structures into a consistent hierarchical format that simplifies user interaction while preserving the original content and design flexibility.
4Reliability
If screen reader users must process all content elements sequentially, then they ensure thorough content review, but productivity decreases due to inability to skip or preview information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments content into hierarchical units that can be independently navigated. Users can quickly move between main topics and subtopics without processing every content element sequentially, maintaining the ability to thoroughly review relevant content while significantly improving information processing speed through selective navigation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent allows users to perform partial content review by navigating to specific hierarchy levels based on their needs. Users can overview main topics without detailed content review when time is limited, or dive into specific subtopics and content elements when thorough review is needed, providing flexibility between productivity and thoroughness.
Data Source
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AI summary
Implementations are described herein for hierarchical interfaces for screen reader users (SRUs). In various implementations, a first subtree of leaf nodes of a hierarchical data structure may be populated with content extracted or otherwise derived from digital content item(s), which may or may not be responsive to a search query. Generative model(s) may be used to process the content of the first subtree of leaf nodes to generate a first summary of the content used to populate the first subtree of leaf nodes. A first branch node above the subtree of leaf nodes may be populated with the first summary. The generative model(s) may be used to process first summary and a second summary to generate second tier output that includes a third summary of the first and second summaries. A screen reader interface may be provided and may be operable to facilitate navigation of the hierarchical data structure.