Our Projects

The TAGteam consists of talented individuals with backgrounds in computer science, engineering, human-computer interaction, human factors, graphic and interface design, psychology and sociology.

ALLT

Large-Print Listening and Talking ebooks

Having a book read aloud is a common way of reading for individuals who are blind or partially sighted. Currently, about 386,000 Canadians are visually impaired or legally blind and it is predicted that these numbers will double in next 25 years. Large-print books are also used extensively by individuals with low vision.

A variety of technologies have been invented to make books accessible. For example, screen reader technologies enable such individuals to access the contents of digital books. However, more research needs to be done to improve and develop better technologies. TAGlab has envisioned, designed, built and begun testing of a prototype of an Accessible Large-print Listening and Talking (ALLT) e-book designed for people with vision loss.

ALLT technology supports the essential features of reading books in large font and listening to them with Text to Speech. But ALLT is unique in comparison to other existing e-book reader technologies because it also has a listening and talking capability. ALLT records the voice of a family member when s/he reads aloud for a person with vision loss; the recorded content can then be replayed later. Our proposal requests funds to continue development of ALLT technology and to test it in a rigorous manner with four individuals with vision loss, two who are blind and two who are partially sighted.