Literature Reviews

Reviewed research papers, articles, and publications relevant to digital accessibility.

• Modeling Touch Input for Users with Motor Impairments: Empirical Insights into Training Size Requirements

  Radu-Daniel Vatavu, Irina Petrariu, Tudor Horomnea, Ovidiu-Ciprian Ungurean (2026) — Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’26)

  This CHI Extended Abstract addresses a practical question for ability-based design: how many touch observations do you actually need before you can build a user-specific model of someone's touch performance? Most touch modeling work, including Bayesi…

  • touch input
  • motor impairment
  • ability-based design
  • adaptive interfaces
  • touchscreen accessibility
  • user modeling
  • personalization
  • mobile accessibility

• Modeling Expertise in Assistive Navigation Interfaces for Blind People

  Eshed Ohn-Bar, João Guerreiro, Dragan Ahmetovic, Kris M. Kitani, Chieko Asakawa (2018) — Proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces (IUI)

  This short IUI paper asks a question most assistive-navigation research leaves unasked: what happens as a blind user becomes an expert on a route? Existing smartphone guidance apps deliver the same instruction set on a user's tenth trip down a corrid…

  • blind navigation
  • indoor navigation
  • turn-by-turn navigation
  • visual impairment
  • blindness
  • assistive technology
  • personalization
  • adaptive interface
  • user modeling
  • machine learning
  • deep learning
  • recurrent neural network
  • LSTM
  • route learning
  • mobile accessibility
  • orientation and mobility

• User Modeling for Individuals with Disabilities: A Pilot Study of Word Prediction

  Abhishek Agarwal, Richard Simpson (2005) — Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This short paper describes the development of user models that predict how word prediction (WP) systems affect text entry performance for individuals with disabilities. The research addresses a practical clinical problem: clinicians who assess assist…

  • word prediction
  • user modeling
  • assistive technology
  • text entry
  • eye tracking
  • keystroke savings
  • AAC

• Investigating the Applicability of User Models for Motion-Impaired Users

  Simeon Keates, John Clarkson, Peter Robinson (2000) — Proceedings of the Fourth International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '00)

  This paper from the University of Cambridge investigates whether the Model Human Processor (MHP) — a foundational user model from Card, Moran, and Newell's "The Psychology of Human-Computer Interaction" — accurately describes how motion-impaired user…

  • motor impairment
  • user modeling
  • universal access
  • human-computer interaction
  • cerebral palsy
  • input devices
  • usability testing
  • inclusive design

• A Tool to Promote Prolonged Engagement in Art Therapy: Design and Development from Arts Therapist Requirements

  Jesse Hoey, Krists Zutis, Valerie Leuty, Alex Mihailidis (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper describes the design and evaluation of a customisable touch-screen tool that assists creative arts therapists working with older adults with dementia. The system uses a partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP) controller to aut…

  • dementia
  • art therapy
  • computer vision
  • adaptive systems
  • user modeling
  • engagement detection
  • touchscreen interface
  • older adults
  • creative arts therapy

• Automatically Generating Tailored Accessible User Interfaces for Ubiquitous Services

  Julio Abascal, Amaia Aizpurua, Idoia Cearreta, Borja Gamecho, Nestor Garay-Vitoria, Raúl Miñón (2011) — Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This paper presents EGOKI, a system that automatically generates tailored accessible user interfaces for ubiquitous services based on individual user capabilities. In ubiquitous computing environments, people access services like information kiosks, …

  • adaptive interfaces
  • automatic interface generation
  • ubiquitous computing
  • ambient assisted living
  • user modeling
  • blindness
  • low vision
  • motor impairment
  • cognitive disability
  • ontology

• Detecting Linguistic HCI Markers in an Online Aphasia Support Group

  Yoram M. Kalman, Kathleen Geraghty, Cynthia K. Thompson, Darren Gergle (2012) — Proceedings of the 14th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2012)

  This paper investigates whether the language deficits associated with aphasia — an acquired language disorder typically resulting from stroke or brain injury — can be detected in online written communication. The concept of "HCI markers" is introduce…

  • aphasia
  • computer-mediated communication
  • linguistic analysis
  • online support groups
  • user modeling
  • health monitoring
  • stroke

• Implementing Ability-Based Design: A Systematic Approach to Conceptual User Modeling

  Amelie Nolte, Jacob Wobbrock, Torben Volkmann, Nicole Jochems (2022) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper addresses a critical gap in Ability-Based Design (ABD): while the concept has been influential in accessibility research for over a decade, it has lacked a systematic methodology for implementation. ABD, introduced by Wobbrock et al., shif…

  • ability-based design
  • user modeling
  • design methodology
  • requirements analysis
  • accessible design
  • inclusive design

• Towards Ubiquitous Accessibility: Capability-based Profiles and Adaptations, Delivered via the Semantic Web

  Matthew Tylee Atkinson, Matthew J. Bell, Colin H. C. Machin (2012) — Proceedings of the International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from Loughborough University proposes using semantic web technologies (RDF and OWL) to deliver capability-based user profiles and adaptive accessibility solutions across devices and platforms. The authors argue that the current assistive t…

  • adaptive interfaces
  • personalization
  • semantic web
  • user modeling
  • assistive technology
  • universal design
  • accessibility standards
  • user profiles

• Accessibility and Smart Data: the Case Study of mPASS

  Catia Prandi (2014) — Proceedings of the 11th Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This doctoral consortium paper presents mPASS (mobile Pervasive Accessibility Social Sensing), a research project from the University of Bologna that applies the concept of Smart Data to urban accessibility. The paper argues that while crowdsourcing …

  • accessible maps
  • crowdsourcing
  • smart data
  • urban accessibility
  • user modeling
  • mobile accessibility
  • personalization
  • navigation