Open-Source Photosensitive Epilepsy Analysis Tool
Background
Researcher Dr. J Bern Jordan is currently working on an open-source photosensitive epilepsy analysis tool. Content creators aren’t all aware that flashing can cause seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy. They might accidentally create or distribute hazardous videos. TRACE already has a PEAT tool but it’s breaking in slow motion. A new tool is needed, and companies are interested in using tools like this too. There’s been more awareness recently and people are interested in how to display content safely.
Current Work
Work on this project will include building an open source and friendly tool that lots of people will hopefully pick up and maintain in order for content to be safe for everyone. Since this will be open source, it could have many uses. Content creators could use it to check their videos as they make them. Social media companies could pre-screen uploads. Streaming services could pre-screen content. Instead of saying “this may have a hazard”, it could say where the hazard is. Right now people have to decide if they can watch something or not and they don’t know where inside a video the problematic content is. A new tool could lead to a new standard about metadata and streams so that a video player could activate safety mechanisms. In the future, researchers can explore ways of fixing content on the fly or other ways of keeping people safe because everyone has different thresholds of what they can watch, and the current standards assume one level.
“[This project] is really tricky so I get the chance to work on something technically challenging. I am very interested in standards and guidelines so I like trying to make tools for photosensitive epilepsy guidelines. There is a real shortage of tools that do this accurately. ” – Dr. J Bern Jordan
