Raive

Any image. Any question. Anytime.

RAIVE by Solona is an entirely new approach to accessibility. It is a service that empowers people to independently gain information that would otherwise be impossible to ascertain. Although software can do many things, there are some things that are simply beyond the scope of OCR or image processing. There are many other visual objects that are inherently inaccessible and may contain important information.

Multimedia is woven into the fabric of our communications. Emails contain images more than ever before. Dynamic Flash-based web pages are becoming more and more common. Web forms may be image-based and not properly labeled. Product packaging is inherently inaccessible. Advertisers, service providers, and companies alike use rich image-based delivery that can be completely inaccessible for a visually impaired person. There is no limit to inaccessibility in our digital age.

RAIVE, which stands for “Remotely Analyzing (and) Interpreting Visual Elements”, enables people to independently extract information from inaccessible visual elements. Users can submit a ‘Package’ which contains any visual element (picture, file, screen capture, PDF) along with a question. If it can be captured, scanned, or saved, it can be submitted in a Package. A Solona Operator will promptly examine the image and the question and return the answer to the user. This ensures that the user will receive highly accurate information in order to make a decision. Users normally receive a response within 30 minutes. Responses are automatically processed and sent to the user’s registered email address.

The service is available at anytime. Whereas Solona CSS depends on a sighted operator to be standing by, RAIVE is not a real-time service. Users are invited to submit Packages at anytime and they will receive a response within a short period of time.

The RAIVE interface is very easy to understand and navigate. It is optimized for screen readers.

There is no limit to what a user can submit. If it’s an image, and the user has a question, then those two elements can be submitted for solving.

RAIVE supports several languages. That means that users can submit images and questions in the following languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, and Hebrew. The answer will also be returned in that language.

The service works with any and all computer environments: Windows, Mac, Linux, all browsers, any image file type is compatible. Solona strives to provide platform independent tools and interfaces.

As with every Solona tool, privacy and security are paramount within Raive. First of all, all information related to Packages is deleted after being solved. Solona does not retain any information other than time stamp data. We do not save images, elements, or questions. We are not in the data business; we are in the accessibility business. Next, the user’s identity is not revealed to the operator who examines the package. The operator submits the answer via a web page screen, but does not know the email address that the information is being sent to. Solona makes every attempt to ensure that user information is treated properly and securely.