Information technology - User interface component accessibility - Part 15: Guidance on scanning visual information for presentation as text in various modalities

This document provides guidance on various aspects of the user interface of applications that scan visual information that are used directly by humans, including:

— initiating the scanning application;

— setting user's preferences and configuring the scanning application;

— identifying the types of information currently of interest to the user;

— locating visual objects of interest to the user;

— creating a static image via scanning the visual object;

— identifying the information content provided by the visual object;

— processing scanned information and outputting the results to the user.

This document provides increased accessibility by addressing the user accessibility needs of diverse users in diverse contexts.

This document contains guidance that can be applied to a variety of devices, including:

— specialized devices that are dedicated to scanning and processing visual information;

— mobile devices (such as smartphones and tablets);

— general purpose computers with camera capabilities;

— office machines with scanning functions.

This document contains guidance that can be applied to various types of software, including:

— stand-alone scanning applications;

— applications including scanning functionalities;

— (scanning) applications that interoperate with other applications.

This document contains guidance that can be used for outputting scanned information in various modalities, including:

— audio outputs;

— visual outputs;

— tactile outputs;

— storing information for future use within the application performing the scanning;

— electronic outputs (to other applications, systems, or devices including those directly connected and those connected via the Internet).

This document does not:

— apply to fully automated scanning that is not under direct human control;

— apply to applications that scan visual information for editing an image or just displaying it;

— provide guidance on the design of specific hardware devices involved in scanning;

— provide guidance on the specific objects that can be recognized or the specific software used to recognize these objects;

— provide guidance on the internal functioning of software that recognizes specific types of objects.

This document is intended for use by developers of applications that include user controlled scanning functionalities. It does not expect that an application includes all of these functionalities. It can be used for those functionalities that an application does provide.