9503228 Morford Microsoft is having success distributing a graphic based operating system called Windows NT which runs on larger style personal computers. This operating system is currently being used in many universities and businesses and is inaccessible to visually impaired people. This lack of access will hinder the educational and business opportunities for visually impaired people. In this Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project Automated Functions, Inc. (AFI) is designing and developing software that uses an innovative multiple task approach to attempt to accurately convert the graphic based Windows NT two-dimensional screen data to the one-dimensional medium of speech or Braille. AFI will use new data exchange functions in Windows NT to try to increase the accuracy of the graphic to text conversion. Graphic Access New Technology (GANT) will also be designed to be quickly updated for different foreign languages. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is to make Windows NT accessible to visually impaired people. AFI is expert in the design and development of adaptive aids to assist visually impaired people. The GANT team is familiar with graphic based operating systems and understands the needs of visually impaired people. A successful GANT system will enable visually impaired people to use the same Windows NT system as their sighted peers.
