PDF/UA (Universal Accessibility) is the ISO standard that defines a form of PDF suitable for use with assistive technology, most obviously with text-to-speech software that makes PDF files accessible to those with visual disabilities. A good introduction to PDF/UA is provided by this PDF Association publication.
Mimotek’s Structuriser technology already creates PDF files that satisfy the major requirements of PDF/UA. Structuriser determines the reading order of the text in the page and tags the page content (including images). This information is embedded in the PDF file as a structure tree, to produce a Structured PDF file, which forms the core of PDF/UA. The process is automatic, although a user interface is provided so that an operator can view and, if necessary, correct the automatic tagging.
We are currently further developing the Structuriser technology to allow it to export conforming PDF/UA files. This involves integrating the existing tagging functionality with a verification engine based on the Matterhorn Protocol rules.
For further information, please contact us.