To start this project, I looked into what technologies currently exist to support accessibility in multimedia, and how effective they are.
In order to narrow down the scope of this project, I decided to first focus on automatically generated subtitles. They are an important technology, as there is far too much content out there for subtitles to be manually created for everything. YouTube has impressive automated subtitle generation, but it is definitely not perfect.
I will begin this project by examining the different types software and techniques for generating automated subtitles. If time permits, I would also like to look into other automated accesibility technologies, such as screen readers.
Progress with regard to the schedule
Progress is going well, although I was held back a bit due do a large volume of assignments and midterms in the last couple weeks. However, I believe I will have more time to work on this project in the coming weeks, as some of my other classes will be lighter on assigned work.
Technical challenges met, solved and remaining
The technical challenges I have met have mostly involved the complexity involved in the inner workings of text to speech technologies, the technology behind automated subtitles. Text to speech generslly utilizes advanced machine learning technologies in order to accurately translate spoken speech into text. I have limited experience with machine learning, so there is a steep learning curve there. However, I am making good strides and am excited at the opportunity.
Additional help needed if any
I do forsee myself needing any addition help at the current moment.
Adjustment requested to the proposal
The only adjustment I would like make to my proposal is to narrow down the scope of the project to focus more on automated subtitle (text to speech) technologies. If time permits, I would also like to look into screen reading technologies.