Literature Reviews

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

• Screen Reader/2: Access to OS/2 and the Graphical User Interface

  Jim Thatcher (1994) — Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper describes IBM Screen Reader/2, a screen access system that enabled blind users to interact with the OS/2 graphical user interface (GUI), Windows programs running under OS/2, and text-mode DOS and OS/2 programs. The system evolved from near…

  • screen readers
  • graphical user interface
  • blind users
  • off-screen model
  • text-to-speech
  • GUI accessibility
  • IBM

• Pattern recognition and synthesis for sign language translation system

  M. Ohki, H. Sagawa, T. Sakiyama, E. Oohira, H. Ikeda, H. Fujisawa (1994) — Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper describes a bidirectional sign language translation system being developed to translate between Japanese Sign Language (JSL) and written Japanese. The system addresses both directions of translation: recognizing sign language input and con…

  • sign language recognition
  • sign language synthesis
  • Japanese Sign Language
  • gesture recognition
  • DataGlove
  • 3D animation
  • computer graphics
  • machine translation
  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • pattern recognition
  • bidirectional translation

• Automatic impact sound generation for using in nonvisual interfaces

  A. Darvishi, E. Munteanu, V. Guggiana, H. Schauer, M. Motavalli, M. Rauterberg (1994) — Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper describes a joint research project between the University of Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) aimed at developing an audio framework for non-visual interfaces based on physically modeled impact sounds. Rather than…

  • sonification
  • auditory display
  • non-visual interface
  • physical modeling
  • sound synthesis
  • impact sounds
  • audio framework
  • blind users
  • non-speech audio
  • earcon

• LVRS: the low vision research system

  M. Krell (1994) — Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This 1994 paper introduces the Low Vision Research System (LVRS), a computer-based research tool designed for vision researchers developing vision enhancement systems for people with low vision. The system comprises three integrated components: warpi…

  • low vision
  • vision enhancement
  • image processing
  • image warping
  • digital video
  • filtering
  • research tools
  • assistive technology development
  • visual impairment

• Interface modeling issues in providing access to GUIs for the visually impaired (panel session)

  A. D. N. Edwards, E. D. Mynatt, J. Thatcher (1994) — Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This Assets '94 panel session brought together three leading researchers to discuss the fundamental challenge of making graphical user interfaces accessible to blind and visually impaired users. By 1994, the computing world was rapidly transitioning …

  • GUI accessibility
  • screen reader
  • blind users
  • off-screen model
  • interface modeling
  • visual impairment
  • non-visual interaction
  • panel session

• A system for teaching speech to profoundly deaf children using synthesized acoustic and articulatory patterns

  E. Keate, H. Javkin, N. Antonanzas-Barroso, R. Zou (1994) — Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper describes a PC-based computer-assisted speech training system for profoundly deaf children that integrates a text-to-speech (TTS) synthesizer to generate both acoustic and articulatory models for any typed utterance. The system addresses a…

  • deaf education
  • speech training
  • text-to-speech
  • palatography
  • visual feedback
  • acoustic analysis
  • articulation
  • speech synthesis
  • deaf children
  • computer-aided instruction
  • formant analysis

• Iconic language design for people with significant speech and multiple impairments

  P. L. Albacete, S.-K. Chang, G. Polese, B. Baker (1994) — Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper presents a formal methodology for designing iconic languages used in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems for people with significant speech and multiple impairments (SSMI). The authors build on the Minspeak system, con…

  • AAC
  • iconic language
  • semantic compaction
  • Minspeak
  • speech impairment
  • multiple impairments
  • augmentative communication
  • symbol-based communication
  • icon algebra
  • conceptual dependency
  • visual language
  • Blissymbols
  • language design

• Personal guidance system for the visually impaired

  J. M. Loomis, R. G. Golledge, R. L. Klatzky, J. M. Speigle, J. Tietz (1994) — Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This 1994 paper outlines the design and progress of a portable navigation system intended to enable visually impaired individuals to travel independently through both familiar and unfamiliar environments. The system integrates three core functional c…

  • navigation
  • blind users
  • GPS
  • geographic information system
  • wayfinding
  • spatial orientation
  • route planning
  • portable system
  • visually impaired
  • assistive navigation

• Audio formatting of a graph

  S. H. Zhang, M. Krishnamoorthy (1994) — Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This 1994 paper introduces Audio Formatting of a Graph (AFG), a software package designed to make graph theory accessible to visually impaired students and researchers. Graph theory — the mathematical study of relationships between objects represente…

  • sonification
  • graph theory
  • blind users
  • audio representation
  • mathematics accessibility
  • STEM accessibility
  • non-visual interaction
  • menu-driven interface

• Hyperbraille: a hypertext system for the blind

  T. Kieninger, N. Kuhn (1994) — Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This 1994 paper presents Hyperbraille, a system designed to make hypertext documents accessible to blind users through braille output devices. The research addresses a fundamental challenge: hypertext systems rely heavily on visual cues such as highl…

  • Braille
  • hypertext
  • blind users
  • navigation
  • document analysis
  • accessibility
  • office workplace
  • braille display
  • link management
  • non-visual browsing
  • document conversion