IEEE VIS 2024 Content: AltGeoViz: Facilitating Accessible Geovisualization

AltGeoViz: Facilitating Accessible Geovisualization

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Chu Li - University of Washington, Seattle, United States

 Rock Yuren Pang - University of Washington, Seattle, United States

 Ather Sharif - University of Washington, Seattle, United States

 Arnavi Chheda-Kothary - University of Washington, Seattle, United States

 Jeffrey Heer - University of Washington, Seattle, United States

 Jon E. Froehlich - University of Washington, Seattle, United States

 Screen-reader Accessible PDF

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 Room: Bayshore VI

2024-10-17T16:18:00ZGMT-0600Change your timezone on the schedule page
2024-10-17T16:18:00Z

Exemplar figure, described by caption below — AltGeoViz enables screen-reader users to interact with dynamic geovisualizations. The left image shows the initial view, with the title, a summary of the general spatial pattern, and data extrema and averages presented to the user.The center image shows how as the user moves and zooms, the information is updated, and they can hear the boundary of their current viewport. The right image demonstrates how the data can be shown at different geographic units, such as state or county level, depending on the zoom level. See the provided video for a full demonstration of the AltGeoViz functionality.

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Keywords

dynamic geovisualization, accessibility, alt-text, screen-reader

Abstract

Geovisualizations are powerful tools for exploratory spatial analysis, enabling sighted users to discern patterns, trends, and relationships within geographic data. However, these visual tools have remained largely inaccessible to screen-reader users. We introduce AltGeoViz, a new interactive geovisualization approach that dynamically generates alt-text descriptions based on the user's current map view, providing voiceover summaries of spatial patterns and descriptive statistics.In a remote user study with five screen-reader users, we found that participants were able to interact with spatial data in previously infeasible ways, demonstrated a clear understanding of data summaries and their location context, and could synthesize spatial understandings of their explorations. Moreover, we identified key areas for improvement, such as the addition of spatial navigation controls and comparative analysis features.