This project takes HEAT software source code and implement more accessibility features to assist users with visual acuity and colour blindness to navigate through and use the software with more ease.
Visual impairment, according to researchers, is a phrase used to indicate a loss of vision or a reduced capacity to see to a certain degree that produces problems that are not remedied by standard measures such as glasses or contacts (WHO, 2021; NHS, 2021, Salvin, 2016). Visual impairment involves anything from: low vision, extreme light sensitivity, and colour blindness. As part of this project, we decided to implement features that are accessible to individuals with low vision in the provided HEAT software, specifically people who are colour blind and low on visual acuity. It is suggested that different types of colour blindness can also cause a decreased visual acuity, so we thought that it would be important to cater to that as well.
Colour vision deficiency (as known as Colour blindness) is defined as a group of conditions that affect colour perception. People with colour blindness will find it difficult to identify and distinguish a particular colour (NHS, 2019). As part of our investigation, we looked into what colour blindness is and what types of colour blindness exist. Types of colour blindness: Red - Green Colour- Blindness (Deuteranomaly, Protanomaly, Deuteranopia and Protanopia) Blue - yellow Colour-Blindness (Tritanopia and Tritanomaly) Monochromacy (black and white) - complete colour blindness This information was useful in determining which themes to utilise with said users we intended to target. We also looked into the most common types of colour blindness and other types of sensitivities, such as brightness and contrast.
For more information, please visit our Wiki page.
Project developed with group members as part of University of Kent MSc Computer Science COMP8860 Sofware Engineering module.
Personal contribution: implementation of theme selector using Flatlaf open source