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Facebook has introduced a new feature to its site which will help millions of visually impaired users “see” photos.
Automatic alternative text is a new development that generates a description of an image using object recognition technology, enabling visually impaired and blind users to envisage the content of a photo.
Those using screen readers on iOS devices can scroll down their Facebook feed, hearing a lists of items a photo may contain as they swipe past photos.
Before automatic alternative text was introduced, people using screen readers could only hear the name of the person who shared the photo but now, thanks to Facebook’s object recognition technology, that has now changed.
The software has been programmed to recognise around 100 items – including objects, food, settings and people – to narrate a sentence such as “Image may contain: two people, smiling, sunglasses, sky, tree, outdoor” to its users.
Automatic alternative text is currently available in English for users in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and Facebook hopes to roll it out in more languages soon.
