Literature Reviews

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

• SignStreamNet: Streaming Sign Language Video-to-Text Translation for Accessibility

  Warfa Ahmed (2025) — Proceedings of the 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2025)

  This paper introduces SignStreamNet, a hybrid neural network architecture designed to translate sign language video into written text in near real-time. The system addresses a fundamental accessibility barrier: over 70 million Deaf and Hard-of-Hearin…

  • sign language translation
  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • real-time translation
  • deep learning
  • computer vision
  • streaming neural networks
  • assistive technology

• "It only needs to work for one of us": Rethinking DIY Deaf Tech Through Situated Co-Design

  Shuxu Huffman, Robin Angelini, Raja Kushalnagar, Katta Spiel (2025) — Proceedings of the 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '25)

  This experience report documents how a Deaf open water swimmer (Huffman, the first author) and their hearing kayak partner collaboratively designed and built DeafSwim, a vibration-based communication system for use during long-distance open water swi…

  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • assistive technology
  • DIY assistive technology
  • co-design
  • participatory design
  • deaf culture
  • vibrotactile feedback
  • wearable technology

• Improving the Efficacy of Automated Sign Language Practice Tools

  Helene Brashear (2007) — SIGACCESS Accessibility and Computing

  This paper describes dissertation research on improving automatic sign language recognition for CopyCat, an interactive computer game that helps young deaf children practice American Sign Language (ASL). The work addresses a critical need: 90% of dea…

  • sign language
  • sign language detection
  • gesture-based interaction
  • computer vision
  • machine learning
  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • game accessibility
  • ASL education technology

• Using Networked Multimedia to Improve Educational Access for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

  Anna C. Cavender (2007) — SIGACCESS Accessibility and Computing

  This paper proposes a networked multimedia platform to address the specific challenges deaf and hard of hearing students face in mainstream university classrooms. The author identifies three core problems. First, isolation: as more deaf students ente…

  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • higher education
  • sign language
  • captioning
  • remote interpreting
  • video relay service
  • inclusive design
  • participatory design

• Enhancing Accessibility through Correction of Speech Recognition Errors

  John-Mark Bell (2007) — SIGACCESS Accessibility and Computing

  This paper investigates methods for automatically correcting errors in speech recognition-generated captions of university lectures, aiming to improve accessibility for hearing-impaired students. The author notes that while ASR-based captioning can m…

  • automatic speech recognition
  • captioning
  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • higher education
  • natural language processing
  • word error rate
  • caption quality metric

• Evaluating Intelligibility and Battery Drain of Mobile Sign Language Video Transmitted at Low Frame Rates and Bit Rates

  Jessica J. Tran, Eve A. Riskin, Richard E. Ladner, Jacob O. Wobbrock (2015) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This paper investigates the lower limits of intelligible sign language video on mobile devices, seeking to determine the minimum frame rate and bit rate that still allow deaf users to understand ASL video conversations. Mobile video communication is …

  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • sign language
  • video communication
  • mobile accessibility
  • bandwidth
  • video compression
  • intelligibility

• Regression Analysis of Demographic and Technology-Experience Factors Influencing Acceptance of Sign Language Animation

  Hernisa Kacorri, Matt Huenerfauth, Sarah Ebling, Kasmira Patel, Kellie Menzies, Mackenzie Willard (2017) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This paper investigates how deaf participants' demographic backgrounds and technology experience influence their evaluation scores when assessing sign language animation systems, revealing that participant characteristics — not just animation quality…

  • sign language avatar
  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • evaluation methodology
  • regression analysis
  • ASL animation
  • demographic factors
  • research methods

• Evaluation of Language Feedback Methods for Student Videos of American Sign Language

  Matt Huenerfauth, Elaine Gale, Brian Penly, Sree Pillutla, Mackenzie Willard, Dhananjai Hariharan (2017) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This paper investigates how to best present video-based feedback to students learning American Sign Language (ASL), as part of a long-term project to build an automatic system that analyses student signing videos and provides immediate corrective fee…

  • sign language
  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • ASL education
  • video feedback
  • language learning
  • Wizard-of-Oz
  • facial expression

• Predicting the Understandability of Imperfect English Captions for People Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

  Sushant Kafle, Matt Huenerfauth (2019) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This paper tackles a fundamental measurement problem in ASR-based captioning for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) users: the standard Word Error Rate (WER) metric has little correlation with how DHH users actually perceive caption quality. WER treats a…

  • automatic speech recognition
  • captioning
  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • evaluation metrics
  • word error rate
  • caption quality
  • word importance
  • semantic distance
  • NLP

• Tradeoffs in the Efficient Detection of Sign Language Content in Video Sharing Sites

  Caio D. D. Monteiro, Frank M. Shipman, Satyakiran Duggina, Ricardo Gutierrez-Osuna (2019) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This paper addresses the problem of finding sign language (SL) content on video sharing sites like YouTube, where such videos serve as de-facto digital libraries of Deaf community knowledge, experiences, and culture. Metadata-based search is inadequa…

  • sign language
  • video analysis
  • content detection
  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • computer vision
  • information retrieval
  • digital library
  • ASL
  • cascading classifier