Accessible reading mode techniques for electronic devices
Techniques are disclosed for providing accessible reading modes in electronic computing devices. The user can transition between a manual reading mode and an automatic reading mode using a transition gesture. The manual reading mode may allow the user to navigate through content, share content with others, aurally sample and select content, adjust the reading rate, font, volume, or configure other reading and/or device settings. The automatic reading mode facilitates an electronic device reading automatically and continuously from a predetermined point with a selected voice font, volume, and rate, and only responds to a limited number of command gestures that may include scrolling to the next or previous sentence, paragraph, page, chapter, section or other content boundary. For each reading mode, earcons may guide the selection and/or navigation techniques, indicate content boundaries, confirm user actions or selections, or to otherwise provide an intuitive and accessible user experience.
1. A device, comprising:
a touch sensitive surface configured to allow user input; and
an accessible user interface configured to facilitate use of the touch sensitive surface by a visually impaired user, the accessible user interface including an automatic reading mode that activates in response to an activation gesture detected at the touch sensitive surface, the automatic reading mode configured to
automatically and continuously aurally present textual content from a predetermined point;
disregard all contacts on the touch sensitive surface other than (i) touch gestures to transition out of the automatic reading mode, (ii) touch gestures to adjust reading rate, and (iii) touch gestures to at least one of scroll or skip by at least one of sentence, page, or chapter;
create a virtual bookmark on a currently displayed page if a gesture is performed to scroll to another chapter, and the currently displayed page is not at a beginning of a chapter; and
transition between the automatic reading mode and a manual reading mode in response to a transition gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface, wherein the manual reading mode is configured to aurally present textual content at a current read point that is selected by a corresponding selection gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface.
2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the virtual bookmark prompts an additional stop on a corresponding bookmarked page in response to a subsequent chapter scrolling gesture to proceed over the bookmarked page.
3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the accessible user interface is further configured to transition between the automatic reading mode and the manual reading mode in response to a transition gesture received anywhere on the touch sensitive surface.
4. The device of claim 1 , wherein the automatic reading mode is further configured to perform one or more of: scroll by paragraph and scroll by sentence in response to a corresponding swipe gesture detected at any location on the touch sensitive surface acting as a single control feature.
5. The device of claim 1 , wherein the manual reading mode is further configured to aurally present a first block of textual content starting at a current read point in the textual content in response to a first manual read gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface, and to aurally present a second block of textual content starting at an end point of the first block in response to a second manual read gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface, wherein a block of textual content is one or more sentences.
6. The device of claim 1 , wherein the manual reading mode is further configured to aurally present a first sentence of textual content in response to a first horizontal swipe gesture, and a second sentence of textual content that directly follows the first sentence in response to a second horizontal swipe gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface.
7. The device of claim 1 , wherein the touch sensitive surface is a touch screen display.
8. The device of claim 1 , wherein the manual reading mode is further configured to select a word in response to a first tap gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface after the word is aurally presented, and in response to one or more subsequently gestures detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface, cause an action to be performed by the device on at least the selected word.
9. A method comprising:
allowing, by a touch sensitive surface, user input;
facilitating, by an accessible user interface, use of the touch sensitive surface;
activating, by the accessible user interface, an automatic reading mode in response to an activation gesture detected at the touch sensitive surface;
automatically and continuously aurally presenting, while the automatic reading mode is activated, textual content from a predetermined point;
disregarding, while the automatic reading mode is activated, all contacts on the touch sensitive surface other than (i) touch gestures to transition out of the automatic reading mode, (ii) touch gestures to adjust reading rate, and (iii) touch gestures to at least one of scroll or skip by at least one of sentence, page, or chapter;
creating, while the automatic reading mode is activated, a virtual bookmark on a currently displayed page if a gesture is performed to scroll to another chapter, and the currently displayed page is not at a beginning of a chapter; and
transitioning between the automatic reading mode and a manual reading mode in response to a transition gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface, wherein the manual reading mode is to aurally present textual content at a current read point that is selected by a corresponding selection gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface.
10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
prompting, by the virtual bookmark, an additional stop on a corresponding bookmarked page in response to a subsequent chapter scrolling gesture to proceed over the bookmarked page.
11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
while the automatic reading mode is activated, scrolling by paragraph and scrolling by sentence in response to a corresponding swipe gesture detected at any location on the touch sensitive surface acting as a single control feature.
12. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
while the manual reading mode is activated,
aurally presenting a first block of textual content starting at a current read point in the textual content in response to a first manual read gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface, and
aurally presenting a second block of textual content starting at an end point of the first block in response to a second manual read gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface, wherein a block of textual content is one or more sentences.
13. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
while the manual reading mode is activated, aurally presenting a first sentence of textual content in response to a first horizontal swipe gesture, and a second sentence of textual content that directly follows the first sentence in response to a second horizontal swipe gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface.
14. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
while the manual reading mode is activated, selecting a word in response to a first tap gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface after the word is aurally presented, and
in response to one or more subsequently gestures detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface, causing an action to be performed by the device on at least the selected word.
15. The method of claim 9 , wherein the touch sensitive surface is a touch screen display.
16. A computer program product including at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with instructions that when executed by one or more processors cause a process to be carried out, the process comprising:
allowing user input via a touch sensitive surface;
enabling an accessible user interface facilitating use of a computing device having the touch sensitive surface, the accessible user interface configured to activate an automatic reading mode in response to an activation gesture detected at the touch sensitive surface, the automatic reading mode configured to
automatically and continuously aurally present textual content from a predetermined point;
disregard all contacts on the touch sensitive surface other than (i) touch gestures to transition out of the automatic reading mode, (ii) touch gestures to adjust reading rate, and (iii) touch gestures to at least one of scroll or skip by at least one of sentence, page, or chapter;
create a virtual bookmark on a currently displayed page if a gesture is performed to scroll to another chapter, and the currently displayed page is not at a beginning of a chapter; and
transition between the automatic reading mode and a manual reading mode in response to a transition gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface, wherein the manual reading mode is configured to aurally present textual content at a current read point that is selected by a corresponding selection gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface.
17. The computer program product of claim 16 , wherein the virtual bookmark prompts an additional stop on a corresponding bookmarked page in response to a subsequent chapter scrolling gesture to proceed over the bookmarked page.
18. The computer program product of claim 16 , wherein the manual reading mode is further configured to aurally present a first block of textual content starting at a current read point in the textual content in response to a first manual read gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface, and to aurally present a second block of textual content starting at an end point of the first block in response to a second manual read gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface, wherein a block of textual content is one or more sentences.
19. The computer program product of claim 16 , wherein the manual reading mode is further configured to aurally present a first sentence of textual content in response to a first horizontal swipe gesture, and a second sentence of textual content that directly follows the first sentence in response to a second horizontal swipe gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface.
20. The computer program product of claim 16 , wherein the manual reading mode is further configured to select a word in response to a first tap gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface after the word is aurally presented, and in response to one or more subsequently gestures detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface, cause an action to be performed by the device on at least the selected word.