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• Tactile Accessibility: Does Anyone Need a Haptic Glove?

  Andrii Soviak, Anatoliy Borodin, Vikas Ashok, Yevgen Borodin, Yury Puzis, I.V. Ramakrishnan · 2016 · Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This paper presents FeelX, a low-cost haptic glove system designed to enable blind users to tactilely explore graphical user interfaces (GUIs) by moving their hands on any flat surface such as a desk or table. The fundamental problem addressed is that screen readers reduce…

  blindness · haptic technology · tactile accessibility · screen reader · GUI accessibility

• Comparing Tactile, Auditory, and Visual Assembly Error-Feedback for Workers with Cognitive Impairments

  Thomas Kosch, Romina Kettner, Markus Funk, Albrecht Schmidt · 2016 · Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This paper compares three modalities of error feedback — tactile, auditory, and visual — for cognitively impaired workers performing manual assembly tasks at sheltered work organizations. Industrial manufacturing companies increasingly outsource assembly tasks to these…

  cognitive accessibility · intellectual disability · workplace accessibility · assistive technology · multimodal interaction

• Uncovering Challenges and Opportunities for 3D Printing Assistive Technology with Physical Therapists

  Samantha McDonald, Niara Comrie, Erin Buehler, Nicholas Carter, Braxton Dubin, Karen Gordes, Sandy McCombe-Waller, Amy Hurst · 2016 · Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This paper investigates the feasibility and challenges of integrating 3D printing into physical therapy (PT) practice for creating customized assistive technology (AT). Physical therapists routinely modify standardized AT devices using temporary materials like Velcro, tape, and…

  3D printing · assistive technology · DIY assistive technology · physical disability · digital fabrication

• Ad-Hoc Access to Musical Sound for Deaf Individuals

  Benjamin Petry, Thavishi Illandara, Juan Pablo Forero, Suranga Nanayakkara · 2016 · Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This poster paper presents MuSS-Bits (Music Sensory Substitution Bits), a wearable sensor-display system that enables deaf individuals to explore musical sound from various audio sources with real-time vibrotactile feedback. While existing sensory substitution systems for music…

  deaf and hard of hearing · music accessibility · sensory substitution · haptic technology · wearable technology

• A Personalizable Mobile Sound Detector App Design for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Users

  Danielle Bragg, Nicholas Huynh, Richard E. Ladner · 2016 · Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This paper presents the design and evaluation of a personalizable mobile phone app that detects sounds of interest to deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) users by learning from training examples recorded by the user themselves. Unlike existing commercial sound detection products —…

  deaf and hard of hearing · mobile accessibility · machine learning · sound detection · personalization

• Magic Touch: Interacting with 3D Printed Graphics

  Lei Shi, Ross McLachlan, Yuhang Zhao, Shiri Azenkot · 2016 · ASSETS '16: Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  Magic Touch is a computer vision-based system that augments 3D printed tactile graphics with audio information, addressing a key limitation of physical models for blind users: while 3D printing can effectively convey shapes and textures, text annotations and labels are difficult…

  tactile graphics · 3D printing · computer vision · blind accessibility · audio labeling

• A Platform Agnostic Remote Desktop System for Screen Reading

  Syed Masum Billah, Vikas Ashok, Donald E. Porter, IV Ramakrishnan · 2016 · ASSETS '16: Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  Sinter addresses a fundamental barrier to remote desktop accessibility: traditional remote desktop technology scrapes pixels from the remote screen and redraws them as bitmaps on the client, losing all semantic information that screen readers require—text content, UI element…

  screen reader · remote desktop · cross-platform accessibility · UI virtualization · blind accessibility

• Gaze Typing Through Foot-Operated Wearable Device

  Vijay Rajanna · 2016 · ASSETS '16: Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper presents a dwell-free gaze typing system that combines eye tracking with a foot-operated wearable device to enable text entry for people with motor impairments affecting arms or spine. Traditional gaze typing requires users to "dwell" (fixate) on virtual keyboard keys…

  gaze typing · eye tracking · wearable devices · foot interaction · motor impairment

• Exploring Auditory Graphing Software in the Classroom: The Effect of Auditory Graphs on the Classroom Environment

  Brianna J. Tomlinson, Jared Batterman, Yee Chieh Chew, Ashley Henry, Bruce N. Walker · 2016 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study examines the real-world deployment of GNIE (Graph and Number line Input and Exploration), an auditory graphing software developed by Georgia Tech's Sonification Lab, in a middle school math classroom at the Georgia Academy for the Blind over two school years…

  auditory displays · sonification · STEM accessibility · educational technology · visual impairment

• Evaluating Haptic and Auditory Directional Guidance to Assist Blind People in Reading Printed Text Using Finger-Mounted Cameras

  Lee Stearns, Ruofei Du, Uran Oh, Yumeng Wang, Leah Findlater, Rama Chellappa, Jon E. Froehlich · 2016 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents HandSight, a finger-mounted camera system that enables blind people to read printed text by tracing their finger across lines while receiving real-time directional guidance to stay on track. The research addresses a significant gap in print accessibility:…

  blindness · wearable technology · haptic feedback · auditory feedback · OCR

• Social Predictors of Assistive Technology Proficiency Among Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments

  Valerie S. Morash, Yue-Ting Siu · 2016 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study investigates why only about 40% of Teachers of students with Visual Impairments (TVIs) integrate assistive technology into their practice, despite AT being critical for K-12 students' educational engagement and predictive of positive postsecondary outcomes. Previous…

  assistive technology · visual impairment · special education · teacher training · community of practice

• Sign Transition Modeling and a Scalable Solution to Continuous Sign Language Recognition for Real-World Applications

  Kehuang Li, Zhengyu Zhou, Chin-Hui Lee · 2016 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents a scalable framework for continuous sign language recognition (SLR) designed to work in real-world conditions using affordable hardware. The researchers address a fundamental challenge in SLR: modeling the transitions between signs. Unlike spoken language…

  sign language recognition · hidden Markov models · machine learning · deaf and hard of hearing · wearable technology

• Self-Conscious or Self-Confident? A Diary Study Conceptualizing the Social Accessibility of Assistive Technology

  Kristen Shinohara, Jacob O. Wobbrock · 2016 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This landmark study introduces the concept of "social accessibility" as a complement to functional accessibility in assistive technology design. The authors argue that ATs have traditionally been defined purely in functional terms—the Technical Assistance to the States Act…

  assistive technology · social accessibility · AT abandonment · stigma · disability identity

• VizLens: A Robust and Interactive Screen Reader for Interfaces in the Real World

  Anhong Guo, Xiang "Anthony" Chen, Haoran Qi, Samuel White, Suman Ghosh, Chieko Asakawa, Jeffrey P. Bigham · 2016 · Proceedings of the 29th Annual Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST 2016)

  This paper introduces VizLens, a system that functions as a screen reader for physical interfaces in the real world, enabling blind people to independently use inaccessible appliances like microwaves, thermostats, kiosks, and checkout terminals. VizLens deeply integrates…

  visual accessibility · computer vision · crowdsourcing · blind users · physical interfaces

• NavCog: A Navigational Cognitive Assistant for the Blind

  Dragan Ahmetovic, Cole Gleason, Chengxiong Ruan, Kris Kitani, Hironobu Takagi, Chieko Asakawa · 2016 · Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services (MobileHCI '16)

  This paper introduces NavCog, an iPhone-based turn-by-turn navigation assistant designed to guide blind users through unfamiliar indoor and outdoor environments without requiring expensive infrastructure or structural modifications. The authors argue that while blind travellers…

  blind navigation · indoor navigation · wayfinding · orientation and mobility · assistive technology

• A mean for communication between deaf and hearing pairs in inclusive educational settings: the Sessai app

  Soraia Silva Prietch, Emanuel José dos Santos, Lucia Vilela Leite Filgueiras · 2015 · Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This extended abstract presents Sessai, an Android application designed to facilitate communication between Deaf or Hard of Hearing (D/HH) students and their hearing peers and teachers in inclusive classroom settings in Brazil. The app uses a WhatsApp-inspired chat interface…

  deaf and hard of hearing · sign language · inclusive education · mobile application · assistive technology

• A plug-in to aid online reading in Spanish

  Luz Rello, Roberto Carlini, Ricardo Baeza-Yates, Jeffrey P. Bigham · 2015 · Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper presents CASSA, a free Chrome browser plug-in designed to help people read Spanish text on the web by providing simpler synonyms and definitions on demand for complex words. The tool builds on the CASSA (Context Aware Synonym Simplification Algorithm) resource, which…

  text simplification · lexical simplification · dyslexia · cognitive accessibility · readability

• Towards a unified definition of web accessibility

  Helen Petrie, Andreas Savva, Christopher Power · 2015 · Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper conducts a systematic conceptual analysis of 50 definitions of web accessibility drawn from books, academic papers, standards documents, guidelines, and online sources spanning 1996 to 2014, authored by researchers and practitioners from 21 countries across all…

  web accessibility · accessibility definitions · usability · assistive technology · older users

• Complexities of Practical Web Automation

  Yury Puzis, Yevgen Borodin, I. V. Ramakrishnan · 2015 · Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper systematizes and analyzes the complexities involved in building practical, usable, and accessible web automation systems, drawing on published literature and the authors' years of experience developing automation tools for visually impaired web users. Web automation —…

  web automation · screen readers · visual impairment · non-visual browsing · assistive technology

• HoliBraille: Multipoint Vibrotactile Feedback on Mobile Devices

  Hugo Nicolau, Kyle Montague, Tiago Guerreiro, André Rodrigues, Vicki L. Hanson · 2015 · Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper introduces HoliBraille, a hardware prototype that enables both Braille input and output on standard mobile touchscreen devices using vibrotactile motors. The system attaches six small vibration motors to a 3D-printed case that fits over a smartphone, with each motor…

  braille · blind and low vision · haptic technology · mobile accessibility · vibrotactile feedback

• Browser-Independent Accessible Math

  Neil Soiffer · 2015 · Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper describes the re-architecture of MathPlayer (version 4) from Design Science, transforming it from an Internet Explorer-only plugin into a standalone library that any assistive technology can use to make mathematical notation accessible in any browser or application.…

  MathML · STEM accessibility · screen readers · speech generation · braille

• Just-in-Time Cognitive Assessment and Task Recommendation for Individuals with Cognitive Impairments

  Sean-Ryan Smith · 2015 · Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This doctoral consortium paper proposes a mobile system that performs just-in-time cognitive assessment for people with cognitive impairments (CI), then uses those assessment results to recommend tasks the individual is most likely to be able to perform independently. The core…

  cognitive impairment · cognitive assessment · cognitive rehabilitation · assistive technology · mobile accessibility

• Refreshable Braille Oral Appliance

  M. A. Naomi Jobrack · 2015 · Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper presents preliminary research toward developing a Refreshable Braille Oral Appliance (RBOA) — a refreshable Braille display embedded in an oral retainer that would allow users to read Braille with their tongue. The envisioned device connects to a wireless lapel…

  braille · haptics · refreshable display · deaf accessibility · assistive technology

• What Not to Wearable: Using Participatory Workshops to Explore Wearable Device Form Factors for Blind Users

  Michele A. Williams, Erin Buehler, Amy Hurst, Shaun K. Kane · 2015 · Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper documents two participatory design workshops conducted with a team of eight visually impaired adults to explore features and form factors for a wearable navigation device. The research team met monthly over nine months as a "design team," with two sessions dedicated…

  wearable technology · participatory design · blind users · navigation · assistive technology

• Understanding Design Considerations for Adaptive User Interfaces for Accessible Pointing with Older and Younger Adults

  Aqueasha Martin-Hammond, Abdullah Ali, Catherine Hornback, Amy K. Hurst · 2015 · Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper explores user preferences for adaptive user interfaces (AUIs) that detect and accommodate pointing difficulties when using a mouse, touchpad, or touchscreen to interact with the web. The researchers conducted participatory design sessions with 38 participants — 8…

  adaptive user interfaces · pointing performance · motor accessibility · older adults · aging