Google Accessible Search to Aid the Visually Impaired

Google has released a search engine that enables the blind to find information on the Web more easily. Accessible Search has been developed by T.V. Raman, a Google research scientist who is himself blind.

The visually impaired have so far been able to surf and read internet pages with the help of screen readers. In the past few years, however, the sites have been added all kinds of graphics and video, which impedes the screen readers.

The challenge before Google was to develop an algorith distinguishing accessible from inaccessible pages. The new engine is in fact not made to exclude inaccessible pages but to rank accessible ones higher.

According to Raman, who worked at IBM Research before joining Google about a year ago, by developing better ways of measuring accessibility, Google could eventually offer consumers with specific disabilities ways to do more customized searches.

Google Accessible Search is built using Google Co-op technology, which enables users to create specialized searches by topic. Raman hopes that the visually impaired people will take part in the tests and in this way help Google finish the tests and improve the engine.