Literature Reviews

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

• Data-Driven Synthesis of Spatially Inflected Verbs for American Sign Language Animation

  Pengfei Lu, Matt Huenerfauth (2011) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper addresses a critical accessibility challenge: most deaf individuals in the US have limited English literacy (the majority of deaf high school graduates read at a fourth-grade level), making written web content inaccessible. While sign lang…

  • sign language
  • ASL
  • animation
  • deaf accessibility
  • natural language processing
  • avatar technology

• Towards Fully Automated Motion Capture of Signs -- Development and Evaluation of a Key Word Signing Avatar

  Simon Alexanderson, Jonas Beskow (2015) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This research develops a cost-effective method for capturing sign language motion to animate a signing avatar for the Tivoli project—a game-based learning environment teaching Key Word Signing (KWS) to children with communication disabilities includi…

  • sign language
  • motion capture
  • signing avatar
  • augmentative and alternative communication
  • Key Word Signing
  • Swedish Sign Language
  • animation
  • virtual characters
  • children

• Demographic and Experiential Factors Influencing Acceptance of Sign Language Animation by Deaf Users

  Hernisa Kacorri, Matt Huenerfauth, Sarah Ebling, Kasmira Patel, Mackenzie Willard (2015) — ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This paper addresses a critical methodological gap in sign language animation research: the lack of standardized reporting on participant characteristics that may influence evaluation results. Sign language animation technology—which automatically sy…

  • deaf
  • sign language
  • animation
  • avatar
  • ASL
  • American Sign Language
  • user study
  • methodology

• Designing an Animated Character System for American Sign Language

  Danielle Bragg, Raja Kushalnagar, Richard Ladner (2018) — Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2018)

  This University of Washington and Gallaudet University paper introduces the first animated character system prototype for sign language, addressing the fundamental problem that sign languages — used by approximately 70 million people worldwide as the…

  • sign language
  • deaf accessibility
  • ASL
  • writing systems
  • animation
  • literacy
  • participatory design
  • deaf culture
  • character systems

• Modeling the Speed and Timing of American Sign Language to Generate Realistic Animations

  Sedeeq Al-khazraji, Larwan Berke, Sushant Kafle, Peter Yeung, Matt Huenerfauth (2018) — Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '18)

  This paper addresses the challenge of generating realistic computer animations of American Sign Language (ASL) by automatically modeling three critical timing parameters: where prosodic pauses should be inserted, how long those pauses should last, an…

  • sign language
  • ASL
  • animation
  • machine learning
  • Deaf accessibility
  • natural language processing
  • prosody
  • motion capture

• Animations at Your Fingertips: Using a Refreshable Tactile Display to Convey Motion Graphics for People who are Blind or have Low Vision

  Leona Holloway, Swamy Ananthanarayan, Matthew Butler, Madhuka Thisuri De Silva, Kirsten Ellis, Cagatay Goncu, Kate Stephens, Kim Marriott (2022) — Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This paper investigates the potential of refreshable tactile displays (RTDs) to convey animated graphics to people who are blind or have low vision — a capability that has been virtually impossible with traditional static tactile media. While tactile…

  • tactile graphics
  • refreshable tactile display
  • blind users
  • low vision
  • animation
  • tactile animation
  • accessible graphics
  • education