Making STEM Subjects Graphs Accessible for Blind and Visually Impaired Students Using Document Understanding Transformer (DONUT) Model.
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| Title: | Making STEM Subjects Graphs Accessible for Blind and Visually Impaired Students Using Document Understanding Transformer (DONUT) Model. |
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| Authors: | Hassan Zaidi, Syed Muhammad1 m.hassan@smiu.edu.pk, Khan, Abdul Hafeez1 akhan@smiu.edu.pk, Shaikh, Sarmad Ahmed1 sarmad@smiu.edu.pk, Hussain, Imtiaz1 imtiaz@smiu.edu.pk |
| Source: | International Journal of Online & Biomedical Engineering. 2025, Vol. 21 Issue 14, p4-19. 16p. |
| Subjects: | Assistive technology, People with visual disabilities, Vision disorders, Visual aids, Image processing, Data extraction, Web accessibility, Engineering |
| Abstract: | Most STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects rely heavily on graphs and charts, which remain largely inaccessible to students who are blind or visually impaired. While text can often be made accessible through screen readers, complex visual structures such as charts are much harder to interpret non-visually. This study presents a proof-of-concept system that applies the DONUT (Document Understanding Transformer) model to STEM charts. The model was trained and evaluated on the Benetech STEM dataset and tested on multiple images, demonstrating promising results in extracting key information such as chart type, chart ID, and x-y coordinate values. Although no user-centered trials or formal educational studies have yet been conducted, this work establishes an initial technical foundation for converting chart data into accessible formats. By enabling interpretation of chart types and data trends, the proposed system has the potential to improve accessibility in STEM education for blind and visually impaired learners, pending further validation and integration with assistive technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of International Journal of Online & Biomedical Engineering is the property of International Journal of Online Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 190249629 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Making STEM Subjects Graphs Accessible for Blind and Visually Impaired Students Using Document Understanding Transformer (DONUT) Model. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hassan+Zaidi%2C+Syed+Muhammad%22">Hassan Zaidi, Syed Muhammad</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> m.hassan@smiu.edu.pk</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Khan%2C+Abdul+Hafeez%22">Khan, Abdul Hafeez</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> akhan@smiu.edu.pk</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Shaikh%2C+Sarmad+Ahmed%22">Shaikh, Sarmad Ahmed</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> sarmad@smiu.edu.pk</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hussain%2C+Imtiaz%22">Hussain, Imtiaz</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> imtiaz@smiu.edu.pk</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22International+Journal+of+Online+%26+Biomedical+Engineering%22">International Journal of Online & Biomedical Engineering</searchLink>. 2025, Vol. 21 Issue 14, p4-19. 16p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Assistive+technology%22">Assistive technology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22People+with+visual+disabilities%22">People with visual disabilities</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vision+disorders%22">Vision disorders</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Visual+aids%22">Visual aids</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Image+processing%22">Image processing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+extraction%22">Data extraction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Web+accessibility%22">Web accessibility</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Engineering%22">Engineering</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Most STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects rely heavily on graphs and charts, which remain largely inaccessible to students who are blind or visually impaired. While text can often be made accessible through screen readers, complex visual structures such as charts are much harder to interpret non-visually. This study presents a proof-of-concept system that applies the DONUT (Document Understanding Transformer) model to STEM charts. The model was trained and evaluated on the Benetech STEM dataset and tested on multiple images, demonstrating promising results in extracting key information such as chart type, chart ID, and x-y coordinate values. Although no user-centered trials or formal educational studies have yet been conducted, this work establishes an initial technical foundation for converting chart data into accessible formats. By enabling interpretation of chart types and data trends, the proposed system has the potential to improve accessibility in STEM education for blind and visually impaired learners, pending further validation and integration with assistive technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of International Journal of Online & Biomedical Engineering is the property of International Journal of Online Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=egs&AN=190249629 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.3991/ijoe.v21i14.58675 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 16 StartPage: 4 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Assistive technology Type: general – SubjectFull: People with visual disabilities Type: general – SubjectFull: Vision disorders Type: general – SubjectFull: Visual aids Type: general – SubjectFull: Image processing Type: general – SubjectFull: Data extraction Type: general – SubjectFull: Web accessibility Type: general – SubjectFull: Engineering Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Making STEM Subjects Graphs Accessible for Blind and Visually Impaired Students Using Document Understanding Transformer (DONUT) Model. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Hassan Zaidi, Syed Muhammad – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Khan, Abdul Hafeez – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Shaikh, Sarmad Ahmed – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Hussain, Imtiaz IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 03 M: 12 Text: 2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 26268493 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 21 – Type: issue Value: 14 Titles: – TitleFull: International Journal of Online & Biomedical Engineering Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
