Jason Morris, Tom Elliott and Thomas Logan discuss the original BATS prototype, © UNC Gazette, 2002
Since the spring of 2001, the AWMC has been collaborating with students and faculty in the Department of Computer Science to develop and enhance free software to make maps and geographic data more accessible to the blind and visually impaired. This project is part of the CS Department’s wider assistive technology initiative. The project began in discussions between Jason Morris (a graduate student in the Department of Classics), Tom Elliott (the Center's director) and Gary Bishop (a professor in CS). Shortly thereafter, the idea of a software tool that would use environmental audio, earcons and tactile feedback to present map information was given to a team of undergraduate computer science majors as a potential semester project in their software engineering course. The first prototype system — dubbed BATS by Jason and the students — was developed by Elan Dassani, Chad Haynes, Shawn Hunter, Thomas Logan and Charles McGaw. You can read more about the initial phase of the project in an article by Angela Spivey for the UNC Gazette.
This work provoked considerable interest within the Accessibility Technology group at the Microsoft Corporation, which subsequently
provided financial gifts that helped accelerate and diversify the project during academic years 2002/03 and
2003/04. Tom McMail (of Microsoft Research University
Relations) wrote to us that projects like this one are of particular interest to Microsoft, because helping people through innovative technology
is one of the company’s core values that has led to a long and significant effort to
enable users through the integration of accessible technology.
1 Microsoft’s
generous support permitted Gary, Jason, Tom and a number of graduate and undergraduate
students to continue work on BATS and other
related projects. Gary also developed a new course for the undergraduate computer science curriculum: COMP 190/290,
Enabling Technology.
Try it for yourself
The latest version of the BATS software is available free for download from the BATS downloads page.
BATS needs your help
The generosity of the Microsoft Corporation has made the development of a stable prototype release of BATS possible, but we are now out of funds to support continued work. So far, we have been unable to secure additional funding from private foundations or individual donors. Most funding organizations support either very local initiatives (like providing free computers to disabled individuals in a single county) or they demand projects with immediate “national impact.” BATS is poised to move beyond prototype status, but it will need further support for evaluative studies that can help us hone its features and ensure its value in actual use. In addition, there is an urgent need to develop a robust set of free digital maps for use in the system. Software modifications are also needed to support special requirements of potential users in the North Carolina public schools and other organizations.
If you are interested in assisting the BATS project, or other accessibility technology work at the University of North Carolina, please contact Gary Bishop for more information.
