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• Voice-Powered Assembly: Boosting Self-Efficacy in Older Adults with "Build2Race"

  Noah Zijie Qu, Mark Chignell, Jamy Li · 2026 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study investigates whether voice assistants (VAs) can support older adults in physical product assembly—a largely unexplored use case despite the proliferation of self-assembly products and the importance of such tasks for independent living. The research compares a custom…

  older adults · voice assistants · self-efficacy · aging in place · assembly tasks

• Situated Understanding of Errors in Older Adults' Interactions with Voice Assistants: A Month-Long, In-Home Study

  Amama Mahmood, Junxiang Wang, Chien-Ming Huang · 2026 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This month-long field study examined how 15 older adults (ages 66-94) interact with voice assistants in their homes, with a particular focus on errors and conversational breakdowns. The researchers deployed Amazon Echo Dot smart speakers augmented with custom audio recording…

  voice assistants · older adults · conversational AI · errors · smart speakers

• Designing Accessible Calendar Tools for Blind and Low-Vision Users

  Mahmut Erdemli · 2025 · ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This extended abstract investigates the accessibility challenges blind and low vision (BLV) users face with calendar applications and explores how voice-activated personal assistants (VAPAs) like Siri and Alexa can enhance calendar usability. The study employed a mixed-methods…

  blindness · low vision · calendar accessibility · voice assistants · co-design

• "I Felt Listened to": Evaluating an AI-Powered Reflection Tool for Care Partners

  Jazette Johnson, Hira Jamshed, Rachael Zuppke, Amanda Leggett, Emily Mower Provost, Robin N. Brewer · 2025 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study evaluates CareJournal, an Amazon Alexa skill designed to support communication between older adult care receivers and their family caregivers through AI-assisted daily reflection. The research addresses the challenge of "articulation work"—the often invisible effort…

  voice assistants · generative AI · caregiving · older adults · reflection

• Overcoming Speech Barriers: Non-Verbal Voice Cue Interaction Technique for Enhancing Smart Voice Assistant Accessibility for Individuals with Dysarthria

  Aisha Jaddoh, Fernando Loizides, Khadijah Alreafai, Omer Rana · 2025 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study presents DARIA (DysARthrIA), a novel smart voice assistant interaction system that uses non-verbal voice cues instead of spoken words and sentences. The system addresses a critical accessibility gap: commercial voice assistants like Alexa and Google Home rely on…

  dysarthria · speech impairment · voice assistants · smart speakers · non-verbal interaction

• Investigating Day-to-day Experiences with Conversational Agents by Users with Traumatic Brain Injury

  Hu, Yaxin, Lim, Hajin, Johnson, Hailey L., O'Shaughnessy, Josephine M., Kakonge, Lisa, Turkstra, Lyn, Duff, Melissa, Toma, Catalina, Mutlu, Bilge · 2023 · Proceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper presents a four-week in-the-wild field study investigating how nine adults with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the chronic stage (1-19 years post-injury) used Amazon Alexa on Echo Dot devices in their homes. TBI can cause a constellation of…

  traumatic brain injury · conversational agents · voice assistants · cognitive accessibility · assistive technology

• Screen or No Screen? Lessons Learnt from a Real-World Deployment Study of Using Voice Assistants With and Without Touchscreen for Older Adults

  Zhenyu Chen, Yijun Lin, Jiaxin Li, Qiuchen Qian, Mingzhe Li, Jikun Peng, Yuhang Zhao · 2023 · ASSETS 2023: The 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper presents a 40-day within-subjects deployment study examining how older adults interact with voice assistants (VAs) with and without touchscreen capability. Sixteen participants (mean age 82.5 years), all living independently, used an Amazon Echo Dot (voice-only) and…

  voice assistants · older adults · smart speakers · smart displays · touchscreen

• Designing Voice-Assisted Technology (VAT) Training for Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) for Adults with Cognitive-Communication Needs (CCNs) at Home

  Claire O'Connor, Lauren H Kim, Ginna Byun, Priyal Vora, Yao Du · 2023 · ASSETS 2023: The 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper describes the design, implementation, and preliminary evaluation of a 6-week virtual training program that teaches adults with cognitive-communication needs (CCNs) resulting from traumatic brain injury (TBI) to use Amazon Alexa voice commands for activities of daily…

  voice assistants · cognitive-communication needs · traumatic brain injury · activities of daily living · telehealth

• Speaking with My Screen Reader: Using Audio Fictions to Explore Conversational Access to Interfaces

  Mahika Phutane, Crescentia Jung, Niu Chen, Shiri Azenkot · 2023 · ASSETS 2023: The 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper explores whether and how human-like conversational assistants could extend the screen reader experience for blind and low vision (BLV) users. Current screen readers provide linear, impersonal access to interfaces through keyboard-driven cursor navigation and…

  screen readers · conversational agents · blind and low vision · design fiction · voice assistants

• From User Perceptions to Technical Improvement: Enabling People Who Stutter to Better Use Speech Recognition

  Colin Lea, Zifang Huang, Jaya Narain, Lauren Tooley, Dianna Yee, Dung Tien Tran, Panayiotis Georgiou, Jeffrey P. Bigham, Leah Findlater · 2023 · Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '23)

  This paper investigates how people who stutter (PWS) experience consumer speech recognition systems and demonstrates technical improvements that can significantly reduce errors. The work combines user research with engineering interventions across the speech recognition…

  stuttering · speech recognition · voice assistants · dictation · speech accessibility

• Analyzing Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Users' Behavior, Usage, and Interaction with a Personal Assistant Device that Understands Sign-Language Input

  Abraham Glasser, Matthew Watkins, Kira Hart, Sooyeon Lee, Matt Huenerfauth · 2022 · Proceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '22)

  This CHI 2022 paper investigates how Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) ASL signers would actually use a personal assistant device (such as an Amazon Echo Show or Google Home) if it could understand American Sign Language commands. The authors position their work against the…

  sign language · american sign language · deaf and hard of hearing · personal assistants · voice assistants

• Toward a User Experience Tool Selector for Voice User Interfaces

  Andreas M. Klein · 2021 · Proceedings of the 18th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This doctoral consortium paper proposes the development of a UX tool selector for voice user interfaces (VUIs), presented as a web application that recommends appropriate measurement tools for evaluating VUI quality. Voice assistants such as Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri…

  voice user interfaces · user experience · evaluation methods · voice assistants · conversational user interfaces

• Understanding Barriers and Design Opportunities to Improve Healthcare and QOL for Older Adults through Voice Assistants

  Chen Chen, Janet G. Johnson, Kemeberly Charles, Alice Lee, Ella T. Lifset, Michael Hogarth, Alison A. Moore, Emilia Farcas, Nadir Weibel · 2021 · Proceedings of the 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper investigates the barriers older adults face when managing their healthcare and daily routines, and explores how voice-based Intelligent Virtual Assistants (IVAs) might address those challenges. The researchers employed a user-centered design approach, conducting…

  voice assistants · older adults · healthcare · intelligent virtual assistants · gerontechnology

• Accessible conversational user interfaces: considerations for design

  Kate Lister, Tim Coughlan, Francisco Iniesto, Nick Freear, Peter Devine · 2020 · Proceedings of the 17th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper presents the first comprehensive review of accessibility considerations for conversational user interfaces (CUIs) — a category that includes chatbots, voice-activated personal assistants (like Amazon Alexa and Apple Siri), interactive voice response (IVR) systems, and…

  conversational user interfaces · chatbots · voice assistants · cognitive accessibility · mental health

14 results.