A Survey on Mathematical Software Tools for Visually Impaired Persons: A Practical Perspective

Paul Mejia,Julio Cesar Larco,Juan Carlos Rodriguez,Luiz Cesar Martini,Felipe Grijalva

doi:10.1109/access.2021.3076306

Abstract

There is no evidence that mathematical semantics cannot be understood due to blindness, the problem is the current access barrier to mathematical resources. In light of this problem, this survey aims at providing visually impaired persons (VIPs), or people close to them, with an overview of the currently available software tools for approaching mathematical content. These can be categorized into (a) tools for accessing mathematical documents (where VIPs are just consumers of content), and (b) tools that allow VIPs to become the creators of mathematical content and even to execute mathematical operations. We also explain the advantages and disadvantages of several key technologies used to interact with mathematics. Moreover, we discuss the necessity of the most common formats and languages behind these tools. Finally, we outline promising paths for future research and development towards blind-friendly mathematical resources. The authors hope that this survey may encourage researchers to engage with the still unsolved challenges of this topic.

Highlights

In different fields of science and technology the dissemination of education and communication of knowledge is usually carried out using a substantial amount of mathematical expressions
We use the term visually impaired persons (VIPs) to describe people who are visually impaired to a degree that causes problems that cannot be solved by common means, which includes blind people
Since this paper focuses on a practical perspective from the VIP’s point of view, the criteria mentioned above ensure that the majority of the currently available tools are described in this survey

Summary

Introduction

In different fields of science and technology the dissemination of education and communication of knowledge is usually carried out using a substantial amount of mathematical expressions. This is true in all types of media, such as books, magazines, papers, and even the Internet. Students with disabilities often face access barriers when it comes to education. This is especially true for science fields that depend on mathematics [1]. We use the term VIPs to describe people who are visually impaired to a degree that causes problems that cannot be solved by common means (such as glasses), which includes blind people

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