Literature Reviews

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

• The TaskTracker: Assistive Technology for Task Completion

  Victoria E. Hribar (2011) — Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This short paper presents the TaskTracker, an Android smartphone application designed to help individuals with cognitive impairments complete everyday tasks by combining time-management and prompting features into a single tool. The author identifies…

  • assistive technology
  • cognitive impairment
  • task completion
  • time management
  • mobile applications
  • attention deficit
  • Android

• Navigation and Obstacle Avoidance Help (NOAH) for Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment: A Pilot Study

  Pooja Viswanathan, James J. Little, Alan K. Mackworth, Alex Mihailidis (2011) — The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This paper describes NOAH (Navigation and Obstacle Avoidance Help), an intelligent powered wheelchair system designed to provide adaptive navigation assistance to older adults with cognitive impairment in long-term care settings. An estimated 60-80% …

  • intelligent wheelchair
  • dementia
  • cognitive impairment
  • collision avoidance
  • wayfinding
  • computer vision
  • older adults
  • assistive technology
  • machine learning
  • long-term care

• Humsher: A Predictive Keyboard Operated by Humming

  Ondrej Polacek, Zdenek Mikovec, Adam J. Sporka, Pavel Slavik (2011) — The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This paper presents Humsher, a novel text entry system controlled entirely by humming — short melodic and rhythmic vocal gestures distinguished by pitch (high/low) and duration (short/long). The system targets people with severe upper-limb motor impa…

  • text entry
  • alternative input
  • assistive technology
  • motor disability
  • non-verbal vocal interface
  • predictive keyboard
  • adaptive language model
  • quadriplegia
  • cerebral palsy
  • humming

• A Mobile Phone Based Personal Narrative System

  Rolf Black, Annalu Waller, Nava Tintarev, Ehud Reiter, Joseph Reddington (2011) — The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This paper describes the development and evaluation of a mobile phone-based data collection system that supports personal narrative for children with severe speech and physical impairments (SSPI). Personal narrative — the ability to tell others about…

  • AAC
  • personal narrative
  • cerebral palsy
  • natural language generation
  • mobile technology
  • children
  • severe speech and physical impairments
  • RFID
  • NFC
  • assistive technology
  • storytelling

• The PhonicStick: A Joystick to Generate Novel Words Using Phonics

  Rolf Black (2011) — The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This short paper introduces the PhonicStick, a novel joystick-based device that enables non-speaking children to explore letter sounds (phonics) and blend them into words. The motivation stems from a key limitation of existing Voice Output Communicat…

  • AAC
  • phonological awareness
  • literacy
  • joystick
  • cerebral palsy
  • phonics
  • assistive technology
  • children
  • voice output
  • alternative input

• Evaluating Importance of Facial Expression in American Sign Language and Pidgin Signed English Animations

  Matt Huenerfauth, Pengfei Lu, Andrew Rosenberg (2011) — Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This paper presents the first empirical evaluation of the impact of facial expressions on the understandability and perceived quality of American Sign Language (ASL) and Pidgin Signed English (PSE) computer animations. ASL animations have significant…

  • sign language
  • sign language animation
  • deaf accessibility
  • facial expression
  • American Sign Language
  • assistive technology
  • natural language processing

• On the Intelligibility of Fast Synthesized Speech for Individuals with Early-Onset Blindness

  Amanda Stent, Ann Syrdal, Taniya Mishra (2011) — Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This paper reports on a pilot experiment comparing the intelligibility of fast synthesized speech across different text-to-speech (TTS) systems for individuals with early-onset blindness (onset before age seven). People who are blind increasingly use…

  • text-to-speech
  • screen readers
  • blindness
  • speech technology
  • speech intelligibility
  • assistive technology

• Towards a Framework to Situate Assistive Technology Design in the Context of Culture

  Fatima A. Boujarwah, Nazneen, Hwajung Hong, Gregory D. Abowd, Rosa I. Arriaga (2011) — Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This paper presents findings from a cross-cultural qualitative study examining societal expectations, perceptions, and support structures for individuals with autism and other intellectual disabilities (AOID) across four countries: Kuwait, Pakistan, …

  • assistive technology
  • autism
  • cross-cultural design
  • intellectual disability
  • cultural accessibility
  • qualitative research
  • inclusive design

• ZigADL: An ADL Training System Enabling Teachers to Assist Children with Intellectual Disabilities

  Zhi-Zhan Lu (2011) — The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This poster paper presents ZigADL, a wireless sensor network system based on ZigBee technology designed to assist teachers in training children with severe intellectual disabilities to perform Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) independently. The syst…

  • intellectual disability
  • independent living
  • assistive technology
  • special education
  • sensors
  • Internet of Things
  • pediatric
  • intervention

• Note-Taker 3.0: An Assistive Technology Enabling Students Who Are Legally Blind to Take Notes in Class

  David S. Hayden, Michael Astrauskas, Qian Yan, Liqing Zhou, John A. Black (2011) — The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This demonstration paper presents the results of a three-year iterative development of Note-Taker, a portable hardware/software assistive device that enables students with low vision to independently take handwritten or typed notes during classroom l…

  • low vision
  • blindness and low vision
  • educational technology
  • assistive technology
  • STEM accessibility
  • inclusive education
  • screen magnification