Introducing the MathCAT Initiative
MathCAT has become a key tool in access to STEM. The name MathCAT comes from “Math Capable Assistive Technology”, it’s a resource designed to support access to Math through tools like screen readers, braille displays and facilitate navigation of complex equations, providing readers with print disabilities equal access to math.
It was developed by Neil Soiffer, a math accessibility expert with many years of experience in mainstream and specialist access to STEM, providing expertise to standards working groups including the W3C Math working group since its inception.
Access to math can be a very complex topic, especially when interpreting how to convert math written in code into a description people can understand, supporting multiple accessible formats, and the international differences in how equations are named, conventions for the order of presentation, and how their elements referenced.
The MathCAT open-source library is already used in NVDA, JAWS, Dolphin EasyReader, Braille Blaster, DAISY Pipeline, and the conversion workflows of some library services. Other developers have plans to integrate MathCAT in their products, including several large technology companies.
Despite MathCAT’s critical role in accessible mathematics, the project currently depends on Neil as the sole developer. This creates a risk for all organizations that have built MathCAT into their business-critical systems and workflows.
This is why we’ve created the MathCAT Initiative, a one-year exploratory project under DAISY governance, working with Neil to coordinate MathCAT development with international contributions, and evaluate long-term options to maintain this valuable resource. We look forward to bringing you updates later in the year.
Learn more, including how you can get involved, on the MathCAT Initiative project page.
Watch a demo of accessible math by Neil in our webinar on accessible math.