Enabled Information Into the Light

by Ru Yuan

Every time he talks about Duguang OCR （Optical Character Recognition）， a technology he developed to help people with visual impairments“read，” 31-year-old Cai Yongbin wears his pride on his sleeve.

Visually impaired himself， Cai is an engineer committed to providing unimpeded access to information. He and his team developed an OCR-based technology and joined hands with Alibaba， Chinas largest e-commerce giant， to incorporate the technology into Alibabas online shopping app Taobao.

By identifying pictures and translating them into voice， Duguang OCR can help buyers with visual impairments place orders， greatly improving their online shopping experience.

Each day， about 300，000 customers with varying levels of blindness place orders on online shopping platforms such as Taobao and Tmall. The new technology enables them to shop without help from others， which has made it very popular. During the 2018 “Double Twelves”shopping festival， Duguang OCR delivered services nearly 100 million times in a single day. Eyes for the Blind

Duguang OCR is just one of several projects occupying Cais research team. Formerly a member of the Shenzhen Accessibility Research Association， Cai launched his own business in June 2018 to focus on researching accessibility technologies. Eventually， he and his colleagues were providing accessibility testing services for renowned internet companies such as Tencent， Baidu， Alibaba and Microsoft（China）. Currently， he focuses on testing and optimizing accessibility software developed by Tencent and Alibaba， especially radio and musical apps popular among users with visual impairments.

China has more than 17 million people with visual impairments， a number equal to the entire population of the Netherlands. As an accessibility engineer， Cai focuses on conducting information accessibility testing and optimization and providing relevant solutions for product development teams. Sometimes he does his own programming to develop relevant software.

Unlike most software engineers， Cai suffers a visual impairment， which gives him a deeper understanding of the needs and habits of people with vision disorders. He wasnt born blind. An accident at the age of six left him in a world of darkness. At 13， he was enrolled in a special education school in Shenzhen， where he quickly mastered computer skills and began to study programming. Eventually， he ventured into accessibility engineering.

“When I started to study programming， I got closer contact with digital accessibility products，”Cai recalls. The first was screen reading software. With its help， Cai could write code on a keyboard with listening aids without the need to switch on a computer.

From that point on， his interest gradually shifted to the internet and relevant products. The inconveniences people with visual impairments face in daily life， especially in using the internet， inspired Cai to realize the importance of unimpeded access to information.

“Compared to fully abled people， disabled persons including those with visual impairments use the internet more for things such as online cab-hailing and mobile shopping apps，” Cai notes. “Imagine if internet-based accessibility products provide even more alternative solutions for the disabled. The development of digital technology has enabled people with visual impairments to enjoy unimpeded access to information and experience greater equality in life and work.”

Equal Access to Information

Although Chinas accessibility sector started late， it is developing fast. In 2013， several leading Chinese internet companies including Alibaba， Baidu and Tencent joined hands with the Shenzhen Accessibility Research Association to establish the China Accessibility Product Alliance.

In recent years， accessibility research has benefited from strong policy support from the government of China and achieved major breakthroughs. In 2016， the China Disabled Persons Federation and the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission jointly issued a document on strengthening website-related accessibility services. In July 2018， the Internet Society of China held a meeting in Beijing to kick off the formulation of the Web Accessibility Universal Design Standards， the first of its kind in the world.

The rapid development of accessibility services in China can be attributed to the advancement of information and communication technology and the mobile internet， the popularity of smart mobile terminals and mobile apps， and the wide utilization of big data， cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Technological development has created opportunities for China to build an internet featuring unimpeded access to information.

Cai and many other accessibility engineers are drivers as well as beneficiaries of the technological revolution. According to the General Report on Chinas Internet Users with Visual Impairments released by the China Accessibility Product Alliance， in the mobile internet era， internet demand from people with visual impairments has become increasingly diversified， and their smartphones are filled with far more than just social networking and shopping apps. A survey showed that 33 percent of people with vision disorders in China had installed 11 to 20 apps in their smartphones， 29 percent had 21 to 30 apps， and 24 percent had more than 30 apps. In the near future， people with visual impairments will spend more time on their cell phones than their computers. In this context， accessibility research is becoming more and more important.

“Without proper accessibility services， the disabled are blocked from a lot of information， which leaves them marginalized，”stresses Cai. He is firmly committed to continuing his work in accessibility engineering. “I hope one day all products can be used equally by all.”