Task-Based Accessibility Measurement of Daltonization Algorithms for Information Graphics

Color deficient people make up about eight percent of the male population and they are often confronted with problems when retrieving information from color information graphics like transportation or geographic maps. So-called daltonization algorithms to improve images for color deficient people have been widely discussed, but it has been difficult to compare and analyze the different strategies with psycho-physical experiments due to the vast time consumption of such setups and the somewhat rarity of color deficient observers. Thus, we propose a framework that compares different algorithms based on a task-fulfilling experiment and the use of simulation algorithms in order to use normal sighted observers as “virtual” color deficient observers. We found out that both the accuracy and the variation of the reaction time can be used as an indicator for good or bad algorithms. We also related it to the color differences among the colors in the graphic and propose an objective measurement based on lightness and chroma as starting point for future measurement methods and daltonization algorithms.