The IMAGE Project

Making internet graphics accessible through rich audio and touch

Have you ever wanted to hear a photograph or pie chart, and not just a description of what is in it? The IMAGE project (Internet Multimodal Access to Graphical Exploration) adds controls to graphics in your browser so you can activate it on photographs and some charts and maps, on any webpage you visit. You will then receive experiences that combine spoken words with other sounds you hear around your head, that tell you details such as where things are, how large they are, or other information depending on the graphic. We are also working on touch experiences using add-on hardware including the Haply 2diy force feedback device and the Humanware Monarch braille pin array tablet, but those IMAGE experiences are not yet released. The goal is to provide people who are blind or have low vision with a new and useful experience of internet graphics that goes beyond automatically generating alt tags. To learn how IMAGE can practically help you, and how to install the IMAGE browser extension so you can try it out, visit the Using IMAGE page. Much of the interpretation of graphics is done using artificial intelligence models, including some Built with Llama.

The IMAGE extension is fully supported on Chrome, but also works on Microsoft Edge, Brave, Safari, and Opera for Desktop or Laptop. To learn how IMAGE can practically help you, and how to install the IMAGE browser extension so you can try it out, visit the Using IMAGE page.