Accessibility of information - online and offline

For a decade the Mobile & Wireless Forum (MWF) and the Global Accessibility Reporting Initiative (GARI) have contributed to making mobile devices more accessible and helping consumers identify devices with the features that best suit their particular needs.

Screen readers, universal design of mobile devices and accessible websites and PDFs have become very helpful tools for blind and visually impaired people. They provide access to information that is available online.

What about accessibility of offline information?

But even today, more than 90 % of all printed information is not accessible for people who cannot read. Whether it is signage, directions in public buildings, advertisements, flyers, posters, contracts, restaurant menus, product information or instructions for use: all require the ability to read.

Who is affected?

Those that are visually impaired or blind are just the tip of the iceberg: reading, especially fine print, is difficult - or even impossible according to EUROSTAT for almost every second EU citizen! The elderly, migrants with limited language skills and people with cognitive disabilities are equally excluded from access to any offline information in such circumstances.

Multi-sensory information access

Providing printed offline information also in an audio format would be the best solution for all these groups. Still, the addition of audio to a printed document has not become a mainstream standard. One of the reasons that it has not taken off is the perceived small target group, another is the expensive and inflexible production process of audio recordings and to date there has also been a requirement of having access to the internet to access them online.

Printing script AND audio

Incorporating multi-sensory information to the printed word via mobile devices would substantially  improve the accessibility of the information. And this is where rather innovative technology from Austria, Speech Code has a clever and low-cost solution to make that happen:

A coloured data code, which stores up to 30 minutes of audio information in the code itself, is simply printed next to the text or visual format. This allows people to use the same piece of paper and just scan the Speech Code - offline. This guarantees cost-free access always and everywhere. The text is shown on the display and read out at the same time.

Speech Code Audio files can be generated online by simply entering the text. The ready to print code is then available for download and inclusion in the document for printing. To show you how simple it is we have incorporated this blog post in a Speech Code. Download the SpeechCode app and scan the following code:

(When you click on the picture, it opens up in a bigger format and is easier to scan.) 


When you scan the code, the full article opens up on your mobile phone and the device can also read it out to you.

Accessible app "Speech Code"

The free app "Speech Code" is available for Android and iOS in 40+ languages - and is also listed on the GARI website. The app includes intuitive navigation, single-tap links, individual settings for contrast, font size and speed of voice. There is also a useful feature called Scan Guidance which offers verbal and/or tonal instructions for blind and visually impaired users to help them to find and scan the code on the page without help from others.