Literature Reviews

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

• Designing Wearable Mobile Device Controllers for Blind People: A Co-Design Approach

  Catherine Feng (2016) — Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This poster paper explores the design space of wearable controllers that enable blind people to operate their smartphones more efficiently while on the go, without needing to directly interact with the phone's touchscreen. Blind people rely heavily o…

  • blindness
  • wearable technology
  • mobile accessibility
  • co-design
  • interaction design
  • screen reader
  • gesture interaction
  • on-body interaction

• Tag Thunder: Towards Non-Visual Web Page Skimming

  Elena Manishina, Jean-Marc Lecarpentier, Fabrice Maurel, Stéphane Ferrari, Maxence Busson (2016) — Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This demonstration paper presents Tag Thunder, an audio equivalent of visual tag clouds designed to bring skimming capabilities to blind web users. When sighted people access a web page, they first skim the content — rapidly scanning layout, typograp…

  • blindness
  • screen reader
  • web accessibility
  • speech
  • natural language processing
  • sonification
  • auditory interface
  • content accessibility

• LucentMaps: 3D Printed Audiovisual Tactile Maps for Blind and Visually Impaired People

  Timo Götzelmann (2016) — Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This paper presents LucentMaps, a system for creating 3D printed transparent audiovisual tactile maps that work as interactive overlays on standard tablet computers and smartphones. Unlike most audio-tactile map approaches that focus exclusively on b…

  • tactile maps
  • tactile graphics
  • 3D printing
  • blindness
  • low vision
  • navigation
  • orientation and mobility
  • conductive filament
  • touchscreen accessibility
  • open source

• Should I Trust It When I Cannot See It? Credibility Assessment for Blind Web Users

  Ali Abdolrahmani, Ravi Kuber (2016) — Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This paper examines how blind screen reader users assess the credibility of web content compared to sighted users, revealing fundamental differences in credibility assessment strategies between the two groups. Web credibility — the believability of i…

  • blindness
  • screen reader
  • web accessibility
  • web design
  • usability
  • information access
  • user research
  • security

• Using Dynamic Audio Feedback to Support Peripersonal Reaching in Young Visually Impaired People

  Graham Wilson, Stephen A. Brewster (2016) — Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This paper investigates whether dynamic audio feedback — sound that changes based on the proximity between a reaching hand and target objects — can improve the accuracy of peripersonal reaching (reaching within arm's length) for blind and visually im…

  • blindness
  • visual impairment
  • sonification
  • spatial cognition
  • child development
  • rehabilitation
  • haptic technology
  • auditory interface
  • sensory substitution

• Blind Photographers and VizSnap: A Long-Term Study

  Dustin Adams, Sri Kurniawan, Cynthia Herrera, Veronica Kang, Natalie Friedman (2016) — Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This paper reports on a two-month longitudinal study with 13 blind participants (ages 18-65, nine totally blind and two with some light perception, seven adventitiously and six congenitally blind) using VizSnap, a free iPhone app designed to help bli…

  • blindness
  • photography
  • mobile accessibility
  • social media
  • iPhone
  • VoiceOver
  • user research
  • image accessibility

• 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 tha…

  • blindness
  • haptic technology
  • tactile accessibility
  • screen reader
  • GUI accessibility
  • braille
  • assistive technology
  • wearable technology

• WeAllWalk: An Annotated Data Set of Inertial Sensor Time Series from Blind Walkers

  German H. Flores, Roberto Manduchi (2016) — Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This paper introduces WeAllWalk, an openly accessible and annotated data set of inertial sensor time series collected from blind individuals walking through complex indoor routes. The data set addresses a critical gap in assistive navigation research…

  • blindness
  • indoor navigation
  • wayfinding
  • inertial sensing
  • data collection
  • orientation and mobility
  • long cane
  • guide dog
  • dead reckoning
  • open source

• Imagining Artificial Intelligence Applications with People with Visual Disabilities using Tactile Ideation

  Cecily Morrison, Edward Cutrell, Anupama Dhareshwar, Kevin Doherty, Anja Thieme, Alex Taylor (2017) — Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper presents a novel tactile ideation methodology for working with people with visual disabilities to imagine future AI applications, and reports on cross-cultural workshops conducted in the UK (6 participants) and India (8 participants). Rath…

  • artificial intelligence
  • blindness
  • visual impairment
  • participatory design
  • design methodology
  • computer vision
  • social accessibility
  • cross-cultural research

• Opinions and Preferences of Blind and Low Vision Consumers Regarding Self-Driving Vehicles: Results of Focus Group Discussions

  Julian Brinkley, Brianna Posadas, Julia Woodward, Juan E. Gilbert (2017) — Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper explores the opinions, concerns, and preferences of 38 blind and low vision participants regarding self-driving vehicle technology through eight focus group sessions conducted over two days in north central Florida. Participants had a mean…

  • blindness
  • low vision
  • autonomous vehicles
  • accessible transportation
  • mobility
  • independence
  • user research
  • focus groups