A Screen reader and Sonification Approach for non-sighted Users to explore Data Visualizations on the Internet

Content on the internet is often not accessible to all users. In particular with data visualizations, blind and visually impaired people face the problem that the presented data is either impossible or very difficult to access with the help of a screen reader. The aim of this paper is to develop a concept that enables screen reader users to explore online data visualizations. The concept should enable users to gain a comprehensive overview of the data and search for specific data items. In addition, sonification is integrated to help users understand the data. A user study with five non-sighted participants provides insight into how data visualizations can be explored with the help of the prototype.