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• Sound, Touch, or the Full Monty? A Comparative Study of Accessible Data Exploration Systems for Blind Users

  Pramod Chundury, J. Bern Jordan, Yasmin Reyazuddin, Niklas Elmqvist, Jonathan Lazar · 2026 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents a controlled within-subject comparative study of three accessible data exploration systems representing different sensory modalities: Olli (a screen-reader-based system using hierarchical text descriptions and keyboard navigation), TactualPlot (a tablet-based…

  data visualization · sonification · tactile graphics · refreshable braille display · multimodal accessibility

• Improving Low-Vision Chart Accessibility via On-Cursor Visual Context

  Yotam Sechayk, Hennes Rave, Max Rädler, Mark Colley, Zhongyi Zhou, Ariel Shamir, Takeo Igarashi · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  Charts remain largely inaccessible to Low-Vision Individuals (LVI) because reading them requires holding both fine-grained data details and the broader visual context — axes, legend, grid lines, overview — in view at the same time, a task that magnification and restricted fields…

  low vision · data visualization · chart accessibility · assistive technology · screen magnification

• Three Modalities, Two Design Probes, One Prototype, and No Vision: Experience-Based Co-Design of a Multi-modal 3D Data Visualization Tool

  Sanchita S. Kamath, Aziz N. Zeidieh, Venkatesh Potluri, Sile O'Modhrain, Kenneth Perry, JooYoung Seo · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  Kamath et al. report an Experience-Based Co-Design (EBCD) process in which five blind or low-vision (BLV) researchers and one sighted collaborator built a web-native, multimodal prototype for exploring 3D surface plots - a class of visualisation central to VUV spectroscopy,…

  blind and low vision · data visualization · 3D visualization · sonification · spatial audio

• GeoVisA11y: An AI-based Geovisualization Question-Answering System for Screen-Reader Users

  Chu Li, Rock Yuren Pang, Arnavi Chheda-Kothary, Ather Sharif, Henok Assalif, Jeffrey Heer, Jon E. Froehlich · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  This CHI 2026 paper tackles a long-neglected corner of accessible data visualization: geovisualizations — choropleth maps, dot density maps, and similar spatially encoded displays that pack demographic, environmental, and public-health information into visual layouts that…

  geovisualization · data visualization · accessible visualization · screen readers · large language models

• "Chasing Shadows": Understanding Personal Data Externalization and Self-Tracking for Neurodivergent Individuals

  Tanya Rudberg Selin, Danielle Uneus, Soren Knudsen · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  This CHI 2026 paper examines a mismatch between the promises of self-tracking and personal informatics — rich self-awareness, reflection, insight — and the lived experience of neurodivergent individuals, for whom stable routines, generalised Likert items, and internal…

  self-tracking · personal informatics · neurodiversity · autism · ADHD

• Making Charts Speak: LLM-Based Conversational Chart Question Answering for Blind and Low-Vision Users

  Amit Kumar Das, Mohammad Tarun, Klaus Mueller · 2026 · Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '26)

  Das, Tarun, and Mueller present GraphWhisper, a conversational system that lets blind and low-vision (BLV) users explore chart images (JPEG, PNG) through natural-language questions, without requiring the chart data to be pre-structured in formats like Vega-Lite. The authors…

  chart accessibility · data visualization · blind and low vision · large language models · conversational interface

• Leveraging Dynamic Audio-Tactile UIs to Assist Visually Impaired Users in Exploring Line Charts through Tactile Graphic Readers

  Gaspar Ramôa, Karin Müller · 2025 · ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper presents the Melodic Line Tracing Exploration UI, a novel dynamic audio-tactile user interface designed to help blind and visually impaired (BVI) individuals interpret complex line charts through tactile graphic readers. The research addresses a significant gap: while…

  data visualization · tactile graphics · sonification · audio-tactile interface · blindness and visual impairment

• Data Sonification for Screen-Reader Users: When and When Not to Use

  Ather Sharif, Neha Aitharaju, Srihari Krishnaswamy, Jacob Wobbrock · 2025 · Proceedings of the 22nd International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper from the University of Washington assesses when data sonification — non-speech audio representations of data visualizations — is and is not beneficial for screen-reader users. Despite sonification dating back to 1974 and growing adoption in commercial products (Apple…

  sonification · data visualization · screen readers · blindness · visual impairment

• Policy Maps: Tools for Guiding the Unbounded Space of LLM Behaviors

  Michelle S. Lam, Fred Hohman, Dominik Moritz, Jeffrey P. Bigham, Kenneth Holstein, Mary Beth Kery · 2025 · Proceedings of the 38th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST '25)

  This paper introduces "policy maps," an approach to AI policy design for large language models inspired by physical mapmaking. The core insight is that comprehensive policy coverage over an unbounded space of LLM inputs and outputs is impossible — just as no map can capture…

  AI safety · AI policy · large language models · AI ethics · model evaluation

• Understanding and Reducing the Challenges Faced by Creators of Accessible Online Data Visualizations

  Ather Sharif, Joo Gyeong Kim, Jessie Zijia Xu, Jacob O. Wobbrock · 2024 · Proceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '24)

  This paper investigates the challenges visualization creators face in making online data visualizations accessible to screen-reader users and develops interventions to address these challenges. Data visualizations (charts, graphs, maps, dashboards) are increasingly prevalent on…

  data visualization · screen readers · web accessibility · sonification · blind and low vision

• MAIDR Meets AI: Exploring Multimodal LLM-Based Data Visualization Interpretation by and with Blind and Low-Vision Users

  JooYoung Seo, Sanchita S. Kamath, Aziz Zeidieh, Saairam Venkatesh, Sean McCurry · 2024 · ASSETS '24: Proceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper investigates how blind and low-vision (BLV) users interact with large language models to interpret data visualizations, building on the authors' previously developed MAIDR (Multimodal Access and Interactive Data Representation) framework. MAIDR already provides…

  blind and low vision · data visualization · large language models · generative AI · sonification

• Understanding Low Vision Graphical Perception of Bar Charts

  Yash Prakash, Akshay Kolgar Nayak, Sampath Jayarathna, Hae-Na Lee, Vikas Ashok · 2024 · ASSETS '24: Proceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper investigates how low-vision users who rely on screen magnifiers perceive and interact with bar charts, addressing a significant gap in data visualization accessibility research. While studies on chart perception have extensively examined sighted users and some have…

  low vision · data visualization · bar charts · screen magnifier · graphical perception

• ChartA11y: Designing Accessible Touch Experiences of Visualizations with Blind Smartphone Users

  Zhuohao Zhang, John R. Thompson, Aditi Shah, Manish Agrawal, Alper Sarikaya, Jacob O. Wobbrock, Edward Cutrell, Bongshin Lee · 2024 · Proceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2024)

  This paper presents ChartA11y, an iOS mobile application that makes 2-D data visualizations accessible to blind and low-vision (BLV) smartphone users through multimodal touch interactions. Developed through an iterative participatory design process involving 13 co-design…

  data visualization · blind and low vision · touchscreen accessibility · sonification · multimodal interaction

• Beyond Sight: Empowering Visually Impaired Users with Audible Graphs

  Wajdi Aljedaani, Uday Kiran Chimpiri, Durgasantosh Gaddam, Vaseem Ahammed Shaik, Yaswitha Karasala, Marcelo M. Eler · 2024 · Proceedings of the 21st International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This technical note presents a tool designed to make data visualizations accessible to people with visual impairments by converting them into audible and textual representations. The tool addresses a significant gap: while data visualization is central to modern information…

  data visualization · visual impairments · sonification · screen readers · optical character recognition

• IMAGE: An Open-Source, Extensible Framework for Deploying Accessible Audio and Haptic Renderings of Web Graphics

  Juliette Regimbal, Jeffrey R. Blum, Cyan Kuo, Jeremy R. Cooperstock · 2024 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper introduces IMAGE (Internet Multimodal Access to Graphical Exploration), an open-source software framework designed to help accessibility practitioners create and deploy audio and haptic representations of web graphics. The authors address a critical problem in…

  web graphics · sonification · haptic feedback · multimodal interaction · open source

• Health Data Visualization Literacy Skills of Young Adults with Down Syndrome and the Barriers to Inference-making

  Rachel Wood, Jinjuan Heidi Feng, Jonathan Lazar · 2024 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This exploratory study is the first to examine how young adults with Down Syndrome read and interpret health data visualizations (HDVs). The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with ten participants (ages 16-29) as they viewed six different health visualizations…

  Down Syndrome · data visualization · health informatics · graphicacy · cognitive accessibility

• Understanding and Improving Drilled-Down Information Extraction from Online Data Visualizations for Screen-Reader Users

  Ather Sharif, Olivia H. Wang, Alida T. Muongchan, Katharina Reinecke, Jacob O. Wobbrock · 2023 · Proceedings of the 20th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This full research paper presents a comprehensive investigation into how screen-reader users (SRUs) extract drilled-down information from online data visualizations, and how the VoxLens tool can be improved to support this process. While prior work on VoxLens focused on holistic…

  screen readers · data visualization · voice interface · information extraction · natural language processing

• Notably Inaccessible — Data Driven Understanding of Data Science Notebook (In)Accessibility

  Venkatesh Potluri, Sudheesh Singanamalla, Nussara Tieanklin, Jennifer Mankoff · 2023 · Proceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '23)

  This paper presents the first large-scale analysis of the accessibility of computational notebooks — interactive documents combining code, text, and data visualizations that have become the standard tool for data science work. The researchers analyzed 100,000 Jupyter notebooks…

  computational notebooks · data science · screen readers · blind and visually impaired · data visualization

• Comparing Natural Language and Vibro-Audio Modalities for Inclusive STEM Learning with Blind and Low Vision Users

  Justin R. Brown, Stacy A. Doore, Justin K. Dimmel, Norbert Giudice, Nicholas A. Giudice · 2023 · Proceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2023)

  This study evaluates a multimodal touchscreen diagram system (MDS v 2.0) built on an iPhone that provides blind and low vision (BLV) users with two non-visual methods for accessing graphical STEM content: natural language (NL) descriptions delivered via VoiceOver text-to-speech,…

  blind and low vision · STEM accessibility · data visualization · haptic technology · multimodal interaction

• Azimuth: Designing Accessible Dashboards for Screen Reader Users

  Srinivasan, Arjun, Harshbarger, Tim, Hilliker, Darrell, Mankoff, Jennifer · 2023 · Proceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper presents Azimuth, a prototype system that converts JSON-based dashboard specifications into web-based dashboards optimized for screen reader navigation, accompanied by automatically generated textual descriptions to support comprehension and interaction. Dashboards —…

  data visualization · screen readers · dashboards · blind and low vision · co-design

• Cripping Data Visualizations: Crip Technoscience as a Critical Lens for Designing Digital Access

  Stacy Hsueh, Beatrice Vincenzi, Akshata Murdeshwar, Marianela Ciolfi Felice · 2023 · ASSETS 2023: The 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper applies crip technoscience as a critical, generative framework for rethinking how accessible data visualizations are designed. The authors argue that current approaches to visualization accessibility largely treat access as a technical problem to be solved by…

  data visualization · crip technoscience · crip theory · blind and low vision · speculative design

• The Accessibility of Data Visualizations on the Web for Screen Reader Users: Practices and Experiences During COVID-19

  Danyang Fan, Alexa Fay Siu, Hrishikesh Rao, Gene Sung-Ho Kim, Xavier Vazquez, Lucy Greco, Sile O'Modhrain, Sean Follmer · 2023 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This comprehensive mixed-methods study examines data visualization accessibility through three complementary investigations: an accessibility audit of 87 COVID-19 visualizations, an online survey of 127 screen reader users, and contextual inquiry with 12 participants. The…

  data visualization · screen readers · visual impairment · web accessibility · accessibility audit

• Performance and Pleasure: Exploring the Perceived Usefulness and Appeal of Physical Activity Data Visualizations with Older Adults

  Dimitri Vargemidis, Kathrin Gerling, Vero Vanden Abeele, Luc Geurts · 2023 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This mixed-methods study examines how older adults perceive and value different approaches to visualizing physical activity (PA) data from wearable activity trackers. The researchers combined semi-structured interviews (N=17) and an online survey (N=27) with 44 older adults…

  older adults · physical activity · data visualization · wearable technology · activity trackers

• Toward supporting quality alt text in computing publications

  Candace Williams, Lilian de Greef, Ed Harris, Leah Findlater, Amy Pavel, Cynthia Bennett · 2022 · Proceedings of the 19th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper investigates the state of alternative text for figures in computing research publications, an understudied context where figures often convey dense, complex visual information quite different from social media or news imagery. The researchers conducted two…

  alternative text · scientific figures · data visualization · screen readers · document accessibility

• A Dataset of Alt Texts from HCI Publications: Analyses and Uses Towards Producing More Descriptive Alt Texts of Data Visualizations in Scientific Papers

  Sanjana Shivani Chintalapati, Jonathan Bragg, Lucy Lu Wang · 2022 · Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This paper examines the quality and availability of alt text for data visualizations in scientific publications, focusing on papers from the HCI and accessibility communities (CHI and ASSETS conferences, 2010-2020). The authors processed over 25,000 paper PDFs and found that…

  alt text · data visualization · scientific documents · blind and low vision · document accessibility