A Web Augmentation Framework for Accessibility Based on Voice Interaction

Even nowadays, users with disabilities still experience barriers while accessing information on the Web. In order to facilitate visually-impaired users to access this information, we propose a Web Augmentation Framework for Accessibility (WAFRA). The main focus of our framework are information-rich websites, such as Wikipedia, but it is also applicable to any website. This approach uses client-side Web augmentation techniques, extending the website with new functionality at runtime. With this Web augmentation technique, WAFRA allows users to access Web contents through a voice interface, offering a set of predefined operations to improve Web accessibility: select and read aloud fragments, increase font size, facilitate navigation and show related videos. However, new accessibility operations can be added to the framework by users, considering their own needs. Therefore, by using WAFRA the accessibility of websites is improved: users are able to interact with websites using voice commands or manually through an augmented menu to access easily specific information from the Web.