The Mercator Environment: A Nonvisual Interface to X Windows and Unix Workstations

Abstract

User interfaces to computer workstations are heavily dependent on visual information. These Graphical User Interfaces, commonly found on powerful desktop computers, are almost completely inaccessible to blind and visually impaired individuals. In order to make these types of computers accessible to non-sighted users, it will be necessary to develop a new interface which replaces the visual communication with audio and tactile communication. This paper describes the Mercator Environment---an auditory and tactile interface to X Windows and Unix workstations designed for the visually impaired. KEYWORDS: user interfaces, auditory interfaces, visual impairment, auditory icons, rooms, three dimensional audio INTRODUCTION The goal of human-computer interfaces is to provide a communication pathway between computer software and human users. The history of humancomputer interfaces can be interpreted as the struggle to provide more meaningful and efficient interactions. One of the most important...