A Novel Approach for Canvas Accessibility Problem in HTML5

Abstract: Canvas is a pixel-based inherently inaccessible element in HTML5.Therefore web users with vision disabilities cannot benefit from Canvas and its desired semantics and functionality. Regarding to the Canvas application in designing interactive graphical user interface, vision-impaired users may miss important information on web sites. This paper utilizes the content-based image retrieval (CBIR) technique as well as code mapping embedded in a Firefox extension to present a novel approach in order to make Canvas interactive user interface accessible. This extension replaces Canvas with an accessible equivalent HTML environment. Unlike previously done works on Canvas accessibility, the proposed approach does not impose any rules on developers and designers during Canvas design.