Access to Scientific Content by Visually Impaired People

The study of Mathematics and Sciences has always been difficult for visually impaired students. In this paper we will describe the research undertaken during the past 20 years to support scientific work for blind and partially sighted people. We will first describe the modalities that can be used to render mathematical contents, and describe speech and Braille solutions, together with the inadequacies of these solutions. Then we will present a number of research projects organised in 3 categories: conversion based on Braille, conversions based on speech and navigation, and communication tools. We will then propose our views on the future research that needs to be carried out now, focusing on support functions for understanding and editing ("doing Maths"), and on communication between sighted and visually impaired people.