Visibility Vol 7 Issue 2, 2013

The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) has developed an optics laboratory for the purpose of quantifying the different characteristics of small visual displays (SVDs) that affect readability for individuals with (and without) vision loss. The ability to read these small displays is critical for adapting to modern society as SVDs are found on mobile phones, home appliances, ATMs, home medical equipment, and essentially every other device that needs to output information to a user. This creates significant barriers for people with vision loss. The purpose of the Optics Lab at AFB is to objectively measure the factors that are important for readability1 (i.e. contrast, font size, and reflection properties) in order to leverage change by providing information to consumers and by incentivizing device creators to take into consideration the importance of device readability in new products.