Literature Reviews

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

• CareHub: Smart Screen VUI and Home Appliances Control for Older Adults

  Ningjing Sun (2020) — Proceedings of the 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2020)

  This demonstration paper presents CareHub, a smart screen prototype that augments voice user interfaces (VUIs) with complementary visual output to help older adults control home appliances more effectively. The research was conducted at the Rhode Isl…

  • voice user interface
  • older adults
  • smart home
  • aging in place
  • multimodal interaction
  • usability
  • error recovery
  • home appliances

• Understanding Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Users' Interest in Sign-Language Interaction with Personal-Assistant Devices

  Abraham Glasser, Vaishnavi Mande, Matt Huenerfauth (2021) — Proceedings of the 18th International Web for All Conference (W4A '21)

  This mixed-methods study investigates Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) users' experiences with and interest in personal-assistant devices (such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home) that could understand American Sign Language (ASL) commands. The research w…

  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • sign language
  • personal assistants
  • voice interface
  • smart home
  • sign language recognition
  • user research

• Freedom to Choose: Understanding Input Modality Preferences of People with Upper-body Motor Impairments for Activities of Daily Living

  Franklin Mingzhe Li, Michael Xieyang Liu, Yang Zhang, Patrick Carrington (2022) — Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This paper investigates how people with upper-body motor impairments currently perform Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and what input modalities they would prefer for technology-assisted independence. ADLs encompass basic tasks like bathing, dressi…

  • motor impairment
  • multimodal input
  • activities of daily living
  • assistive technology
  • personal care assistants
  • independent living
  • input methods
  • spinal cord injury
  • cerebral palsy
  • smart home

• Personalized Wearable Interactions with WearSkill

  Ovidiu-Andrei Schipor, Laura-Bianca Bilius, Ovidiu-Ciprian Ungurean, Alexandru-Ionut Siean, Alexandru-Tudor Andrei, Radu-Daniel Vatavu (2022) — Proceedings of the 19th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This extended abstract presents WearSkill, a web-based middleware application that enables people with upper-body motor impairments to control connected smart home devices through personalised wearable interactions. The system addresses a significant…

  • wearable technology
  • motor impairment
  • personalization
  • smart home
  • gesture input
  • assistive technology
  • middleware
  • ability-based design

• Ability + Motivation: Understanding Factors that Influence People with Cognitive Disabilities in Regularly Practicing Daily Activities

  Varsha Koushik, Shaun Kane (2023) — Proceedings of the 20th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper investigates the factors that influence people with cognitive disabilities in regularly practicing daily activities, focusing on the interplay between ability and motivation. The researchers conducted 90-minute remote participatory design …

  • cognitive accessibility
  • cognitive disabilities
  • daily living activities
  • prompting systems
  • smart home
  • independent living
  • participatory design
  • caregivers

• Making Emergency Calls More Accessible to Older Adults Through a Hands-free Speech Interface in the House

  Michel Vacher, Frédéric Aman, Solange Rossato, François Portet, Benjamin Lecouteux (2019) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This paper presents CirdoX, a hands-free voice user interface system designed to detect emergency calls for help from older adults living alone at home. Wearable personal emergency response (PER) systems — typically pendant buttons worn on the neck o…

  • speech recognition
  • aging
  • emergency response
  • ambient assisted living
  • smart home
  • voice user interface
  • older adults
  • hands-free interaction
  • fall detection