TADA: Making Node-link Diagrams Accessible to Blind and Low-Vision People

Diagrams often appear as node-link representations in contexts such as taxonomies, mind maps and networks in textbooks. Despite their pervasiveness, they present accessibility challenges for blind and low-vision people. To address this challenge, we introduce Touch-and-Audio-based Diagram Access (TADA), a tablet-based interactive system that makes diagram exploration accessible through musical tones and speech. We designed TADA informed by an interview study with 15 participants who shared their challenges and strategies with diagrams. We refer to these insights as the ladder of diagram access. TADA enables people to access a diagram by: i) engaging in open-ended touch-based explorations, ii) searching for nodes, iii) navigating between nodes and iv) filtering information. We evaluated TADA with 25 participants and found it useful for gaining different perspectives on diagrammatic information.

Recommended citation: Zhao, Y., Nacenta, M., Somanath, S., & Sukhai, M. (2024). "TADA: Making Node-link Diagrams Accessible to Blind and Low-Vision People." Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. (ACM CHI, paper presentation and honourable mention). link