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• Speed-Dial: A Surrogate Mouse for Non-Visual Web Browsing

  Syed Masum Billah, Vikas Ashok, Donald E. Porter, IV Ramakrishnan · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper presents Speed-Dial, a system that uses an off-the-shelf Microsoft Surface Dial as a surrogate mouse for non-visual web browsing. The core problem it addresses is the fundamental mismatch between how sighted and blind users interact with the web: sighted users can…

  screen readers · web accessibility · blindness · haptic technology · input devices

• VocalIDE: An IDE for Programming via Speech Recognition

  Lucas Rosenblatt · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This student research paper addresses the underrepresentation of people with upper-limb physical impairments in the developer community — while 6.7% of Americans have upper-limb impairments, less than 4% of developers report any physical disability. The author argues that…

  speech recognition · motor disability · programming accessibility · voice interface · upper-limb impairment

• WeLi: A Smartwatch Application to Assist Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

  Hui Zheng, Vivian Genaro Motti · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This poster paper presents WeLi (Wearable Life), a smartwatch application designed to assist students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) in post-secondary educational environments. The system was developed for and deployed at Mason Life, a programme at…

  wearable technology · intellectual disability · developmental disability · special education · self-regulation

• NavCog3: An Evaluation of a Smartphone-Based Blind Indoor Navigation Assistant with Semantic Features in a Large-Scale Environment

  Daisuke Sato, Uran Oh, Kakuya Naito, Hironobu Takagi, Kris Kitani, Chieko Asakawa · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper presents NavCog3, a smartphone-based indoor navigation assistant for people with visual impairments, evaluated at scale in a 21,000 m² shopping mall in Japan. Unlike many prior indoor navigation prototypes that were tested only in constrained lab environments, NavCog3…

  indoor navigation · blindness · visual impairment · wayfinding · Bluetooth beacons

• "But, I Don't Want/Need a Power Wheelchair": Toward Accessible Power Assistance for Manual Wheelchairs

  Dafne Zuleima Morgado Ramirez, Catherine Holloway · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper explores the needs, expectations, and experiences of manual wheelchair users regarding power assist devices — motorized attachments that augment a manual wheelchair's propulsion without converting it into a full power wheelchair. Manual wheelchair users face…

  wheelchair accessibility · assistive technology · participatory design · physical disability · spinal cord injury

• "Hands On" Visual Recognition for Visually Impaired Users

  Joan Sosa-García, Francesca Odone · 2017 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents a collaborative visual recognition system designed to help blind or visually impaired (BVI) users identify specific product instances — distinguishing between brands, models, or types of objects that feel similar when handled. While BVI individuals can often…

  visual impairment · object recognition · computer vision · assistive technology · wearable technology

• The Tangible Desktop: A Multimodal Approach to Nonvisual Computing

  Mark S. Baldwin, Gillian R. Hayes, Oliver L. Haimson, Jennifer Mankoff, Scott E. Hudson · 2017 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper identifies fundamental limitations of audio-only computer interfaces for blind and low-vision users and proposes a multimodal tangible alternative. The researchers conducted a 4-month field study at EmpowerTech, a computer training school for adults who are blind or…

  screen readers · tangible interfaces · haptic feedback · blindness · multimodal interaction

• Fast Human-Computer Interaction by Combining Gaze Pointing and Face Gestures

  David Rozado, Jason Niu, Martin Lochner · 2017 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents FaceSwitch, an open-source multimodal accessibility system that combines eye gaze tracking for cursor positioning with facial gesture recognition for triggering actions. The system addresses limitations of existing gaze-based interaction methods: gaze-only…

  eye tracking · gaze interaction · face tracking · facial gestures · motor disabilities

• People with Visual Impairment Training Personal Object Recognizers: Feasibility and Challenges

  Hernisa Kacorri, Kris M. Kitani, Jeffrey P. Bigham, Chieko Asakawa · 2017 · CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

  This paper explores whether people with visual impairments can train their own personalized object recognition systems using a smartphone camera and a small number of example photos. The authors address a fundamental limitation of existing object recognition tools for blind…

  object recognition · computer vision · blindness · transfer learning · personalization

• Facade: Auto-generating Tactile Interfaces to Appliances

  Anhong Guo, Jeeeun Kim, Xiang "Anthony" Chen, Tom Yeh, Scott E. Hudson, Jennifer Mankoff, Jeffrey P. Bigham · 2017 · Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2017)

  This paper introduces Facade, a crowdsourced fabrication pipeline that enables blind people to independently make flat-panel appliance interfaces accessible by generating 3D-printed tactile button overlays. The problem addressed is that modern appliances have shifted from…

  3D printing · tactile interface · blind users · crowdsourcing · fabrication

• Scribe: Deep Integration of Human and Machine Intelligence to Caption Speech in Real Time

  Walter S. Lasecki, Christopher D. Miller, Iftekhar Naim, Raja Kushalnagar, Adam Sadilek, Daniel Gildea, Jeffrey P. Bigham · 2017 · Communications of the ACM

  Scribe is a system that provides on-demand, real-time captioning of live speech for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) people by combining groups of non-expert human captionists with machine intelligence. The system addresses a critical accessibility gap: professional CART…

  real-time captioning · deaf and hard of hearing · crowdsourcing · human computation · speech recognition

• Investigating the Implications of 3D Printing in Special Education

  Erin Buehler, Niara Comrie, Megan Hofmann, Samantha McDonald, Amy Hurst · 2016 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This paper investigates the use of 3D printing in special education settings through case studies at three sites serving students with cognitive, motor, and visual impairments, and presents GripFab, a simplified 3D modeling tool designed for occupational therapists (OTs) to…

  3D printing · digital fabrication · special education · assistive technology · DIY assistive technology

• The Gest-Rest Family: Exploring Input Possibilities for Wheelchair Armrests

  Patrick Carrington, Jian-Ming Chang, Kevin Chang, Catherine Hornback, Amy Hurst, Shaun K. Kane · 2016 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This paper introduces the Gest-Rest Family, a suite of gesture-based input devices designed to fit over standard power wheelchair armrests, enabling users with upper body motor impairments to interact with computing devices without needing to reach for or hold separate input…

  wheelchair · motor impairment · input device · chairable computing · assistive technology

• NavCog: Turn-by-Turn Smartphone Navigation Assistant for People with Visual Impairments or Blindness

  Dragan Ahmetovic, Cole Gleason, Kris M. Kitani, Hironobu Takagi, Chieko Asakawa · 2016 · Proceedings of the 13th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This extended abstract presents NavCog, an open-source iOS smartphone navigation system designed to assist people with visual impairments or blindness in navigating complex indoor and outdoor environments. While many blind people can independently traverse familiar routes by…

  indoor navigation · visual impairment · blindness · assistive technology · Bluetooth beacons

• AudioDraw: User Preferences in Non-Visual Diagram Drawing for Touchscreens

  William Grussenmeyer, Eelke Folmer · 2016 · Proceedings of the 13th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper investigates how people who are blind can independently create visual diagrams on touchscreen tablets, addressing a significant gap in accessibility. Diagram-building features in productivity tools like MS Word, PowerPoint, and UML editors are largely inaccessible…

  blindness · touchscreen accessibility · diagram creation · non-visual interaction · STEM accessibility

• TactBack: VibroTactile braille output using smartphone and smartwatch for visually impaired

  Aritra Dhar, Aditya Nittala, Kuldeep Yadav · 2016 · Proceedings of the 13th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This extended abstract presents TactBack, a system that uses vibration patterns on off-the-shelf smartphones and smartwatches to convey braille characters haptically. The system was motivated by the limitations of audio-based screen reader feedback (TalkBack) for visually…

  braille · haptic technology · wearable technology · visual impairment · deafblindness

• Using data from social media websites to inspire the design of assistive technology

  Xing Yu · 2016 · Proceedings of the 13th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This doctoral consortium paper proposes using social media data as a low-cost, scalable method to inform the design of assistive technology, addressing limitations of traditional user research approaches. The author argues that designing assistive technology faces unique…

  assistive technology · social media · natural language processing · machine learning · prosthetics

• Computer vision-based analysis of web page structure for assistive interfaces

  Michael Cormier · 2016 · Proceedings of the 13th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This doctoral consortium paper proposes a novel approach to understanding web page structure by analyzing rendered page images using computer vision, rather than relying on the DOM tree or source code as most existing web page segmentation methods do. The author argues that the…

  computer vision · web page segmentation · screen reader accessibility · cognitive accessibility · machine learning

• Supporting the selection of web content modality based on user interactions logs

  Fabiano Marcon de Moraes, Vagner Figueredo de Santana, Juliana Cristina Braga · 2016 · Proceedings of the 13th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper explores using machine learning to automatically detect whether a web user is employing assistive technology based solely on their interaction patterns during a single pageview, without requiring explicit profile configuration or customization. Grounded in Universal…

  universal design · machine learning · personalization · assistive technology · user interaction

• WebReader: a screen reader for everyone, everywhere

  Aurelio De Rosa, Donovan Justice · 2016 · Proceedings of the 13th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This extended abstract presents WebReader, a free and open source JavaScript library that implements a subset of screen reader features directly within web pages, requiring no software installation beyond a web browser. The project addresses two key limitations of traditional…

  screen readers · web accessibility · JavaScript · Web Speech API · open source

• Towards Universal Rendering in MathJax

  Davide Cervone, Peter Krautzberger, Volker Sorge · 2016 · Proceedings of the 13th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper presents the MathJax Consortium's effort to transform MathJax from a purely visual mathematics rendering library into a universal rendering solution that supports readers with visual, print, and motor impairments. The authors describe how mathematical content on the…

  STEM accessibility · mathematics accessibility · MathML · screen readers · universal design

• A Usability Evaluation of Two Virtual Aids to Enhance Cursor Accessibility for People with Motor Impairments

  J. Eduardo Pérez, Xabier Valencia, Myriam Arrue, Julio Abascal · 2016 · Proceedings of the 13th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper from the University of the Basque Country presents and evaluates two virtual cursor enhancements designed to help people with motor impairments perform pointing and clicking tasks during web browsing. The "circular cursor" creates a translucent circular active area…

  motor accessibility · assistive technology · input devices · pointing devices · web accessibility

• OnScreenDualScribe with Point-and-Click Interface: A Viable Computer Interaction Alternative based on a Virtual Modified Numerical Keypad

  Kavita Krishnaswamy, Patricia Ordóñez, Phillip Beckerle, Stephan Rinderknecht, Torsten Felzer · 2016 · Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This paper presents a first-person evaluation of the OnScreenDualScribe (OSDS) Point-and-Click Interface, a virtual keyboard designed for people who cannot use a standard keyboard or mouse effectively. The first author, who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), can only interact…

  text entry · motor disability · virtual keyboard · assistive technology · word prediction

• Remote Access Programs to Better Integrate Individuals with Disabilities

  Thomas Hahn, Hidayat Ur Rahman, Richard Segall, Christoph Heim, Raphaela Brunson, Ankush Sharma, Maryam Aslam, Ana Lara-Rodriguez, Md. Sahidul Islam, Neha Gupta, Charles S. Embry, Patrick Grossmann, Shahrukh Babar, Gregory A. Skibinski, Fusheng Tang · 2016 · Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This experience report, written primarily from the perspective of the first author who is legally blind due to albinism, describes how remote access programs (such as TeamViewer and AnyDesk) combined with voice communication tools (Skype, Google Hangout) can significantly…

  visual impairment · low vision · screen magnification · remote access · education

• How People with Low Vision Access Computing Devices: Understanding Challenges and Opportunities

  Sarit Felicia Anais Szpiro, Shafeka Hashash, Yuhang Zhao, Shiri Azenkot · 2016 · Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This paper presents a contextual inquiry study examining how 11 people with low vision use mainstream computing devices (smartphones, tablets, and computers) to perform common tasks like reading email and browsing news. Low vision affects at least 3.3 million Americans over 40,…

  low vision · screen magnification · visual impairment · mobile accessibility · usability