AURA – Assistive Universal Reading Assistant

AURA is a Chrome extension that helps users with visual, motor, or social impairments understand web pages through accessible, natural controls.

Current focus (MVP):
“Read / describe this page” — extract the main content of a page and read it aloud using text-to-speech, with a simple on-page overlay for feedback and controls.

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Features (MVP)

Implemented / In Scope for this version

• Read this page

  • Extracts the primary content from the current tab (prefers <main>, <article>, and ARIA landmarks).
  • Reads it aloud using the Web Speech API (speechSynthesis).

• On-page overlay

  • Small, accessible floating panel injected into the page.
  • Shows status: “Reading…”, “Paused”, “Done”.
  • Provides Pause / Resume / Stop controls.

• Accessibility-aware UI

  • ARIA roles on overlay and controls.
  • Keyboard accessible buttons and focus states.
  • Uses aria-live for status updates where appropriate.

• User preferences (basic)

  • Stores speech settings (e.g., rate, pitch, voice) using chrome.storage.local (if enabled).

Planned (not in this MVP, but in design)

• Voice commands (e.g., “Scroll down”, “Open YouTube”) using SpeechRecognition.
• “Social assist mode” to quickly insert common social phrases.
• AI-powered summaries and simplified explanations of complex pages.

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Tech Stack

• Browser: Chrome (Manifest V3)
• Frontend: HTML, CSS, vanilla JavaScript
• Extension APIs:
  • chrome.action, chrome.scripting, chrome.storage, chrome.commands
• Voice: Web Speech API
  • speechSynthesis (MVP)
  • SpeechRecognition (future)
• Storage: chrome.storage.local
• Accessibility: ARIA roles, keyboard navigation, aria-live regions

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Project Structure

This is the intended structure for the extension source.

aura-extension/
├─ manifest.json
├─ icons/
│  ├─ icon16.png
│  ├─ icon48.png
│  └─ icon128.png
├─ docs/
│  └─ DESIGN.md
├─ src/
│  ├─ background/
│  │  └─ serviceWorker.js
│  ├─ popup/
│  │  ├─ popup.html
│  │  ├─ popup.js
│  │  └─ popup.css
│  ├─ options/              # optional settings page
│  │  ├─ options.html
│  │  ├─ options.js
│  │  └─ options.css
│  ├─ content/
│  │  ├─ contentScript.js   # main bridge between page & extension
│  │  ├─ domAnalyzer.js     # extracts main readable content
│  │  ├─ pageReader.js      # wraps speechSynthesis controls
│  │  ├─ overlay.js         # creates & manages on-page overlay UI
│  │  └─ overlay.css
│  ├─ speech/
│  │  └─ speechConfig.js    # reads/writes TTS settings
│  └─ common/
│     ├─ messaging.js       # helper for runtime/tabs messaging
│     ├─ storage.js         # wrapper around chrome.storage.local
│     └─ constants.js       # message types, command names, etc.
└─ README.md