Literature Reviews

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

• A Voice-Activated Syntax-Directed Editor for Manually Disabled Programmers

  Thomas J. Hubbell, David D. Langan, Thomas F. Hain (2006) — Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents VASDE (Voice-Activated Syntax-Directed Editor), a programming environment designed to allow people with manual disabilities to write Java code using voice commands instead of a keyboard and mouse. The authors argue that traditiona…

  • speech recognition
  • programming
  • motor impairment
  • voice input
  • IDE
  • assistive technology
  • repetitive stress injury
  • software development

• A Portable Device for the Translation of Braille to Text

  Iain Murray, Andrew Pasquale (2006) — Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents the development of a portable, handheld device that optically scans embossed Braille and translates it into printed text in real time. The device addresses a significant communication barrier: while many blind and vision-impaired …

  • braille
  • optical braille recognition
  • assistive technology
  • visual impairment
  • communication
  • portable device

• A Rollator-Mounted Wayfinding System for the Elderly: A Smart World Perspective

  Aliasgar Kutiyanawala, Vladimir Kulyukin, Edmund LoPresti (2006) — Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents the iWalker, a rollator-mounted wayfinding system designed to help elderly individuals with cognitive and visual impairments navigate indoor environments independently. The system adopts a "smart world" perspective, where intellig…

  • wayfinding
  • aging
  • assistive technology
  • robotics
  • cognitive impairment
  • visual impairment
  • RFID
  • indoor navigation
  • mobility aid

• Lecture Adaptation for Students with Visual Disabilities Using High-Resolution Photography

  Gregory Hughes, Peter Robinson (2006) — Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents a system designed to make visual content in lectures accessible to students with visual disabilities by using high-resolution digital still cameras and computer vision techniques. Students with visual impairments typically sit 4 t…

  • visual impairment
  • education
  • assistive technology
  • computer vision
  • lecture accessibility
  • higher education

• SADIe: Transcoding Based on CSS

  Simon Harper, Sean Bechhofer, Darren Lunn (2006) — Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper introduces SADIe (Structural-Semantics for Accessibility and Device Independence), a system that improves web accessibility for visually impaired users by leveraging semantic information already encoded in Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). The…

  • visual impairment
  • web accessibility
  • transcoding
  • CSS
  • screen readers
  • semantic web
  • document engineering

• From Letters to Words: Efficient Stroke-based Word Completion for Trackball Text Entry

  Jacob O. Wobbrock, Brad A. Myers (2006) — Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents a significant extension to Trackball EdgeWrite, a unistroke text entry method designed for people who use trackballs as their primary pointing device. The original Trackball EdgeWrite allowed users to enter text one character at a…

  • text entry
  • trackball
  • motor impairment
  • word prediction
  • word completion
  • assistive technology
  • spinal cord injury
  • alternative input

• Accommodating Color Blind Computer Users

  Luke Jefferson, Richard Harvey (2006) — Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper from the University of East Anglia presents an algorithm for recoloring digital images and documents so that color information is preserved for color blind viewers, particularly dichromats (people missing one type of cone cell). The algori…

  • color vision deficiency
  • color blindness
  • dichromacy
  • color remapping
  • color contrast
  • visual accessibility
  • image processing
  • optimization

• Helping Aphasic People Process Online Information

  Siobhan Devlin, Gary Unthank (2006) — Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This short paper from the University of Sunderland describes the HAPPI (Helping Aphasic People Process Information) project, a web-based text simplification system designed to help people with aphasia access online content such as news stories. Aphas…

  • aphasia
  • text simplification
  • cognitive accessibility
  • lexical simplification
  • natural language processing
  • stroke
  • reading comprehension
  • alexia

• An Extensible, Scalable Browser-Based Architecture for Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication and Collaboration Systems for Deaf and Hearing Individuals

  Jonathan Schull (2006) — Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper from Rochester Institute of Technology (home to the National Technical Institute of the Deaf) presents a browser-based communication platform designed to facilitate face-to-face conversation between deaf and hearing team members. Standard …

  • deaf accessibility
  • CSCW
  • real-time text
  • collaboration
  • universal design
  • web 2.0
  • communication accessibility
  • AJAX

• WISE: A Wizard Interface Supporting Enhanced Usability

  Joshua M. Hailpern (2006) — Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This poster paper from Carnegie Mellon University presents WISE (Wizard Interface Supporting Enhanced usability), an alternative operating system and application UI specifically designed to address the cognitive deficits of older adults (60+) rather …

  • older adults
  • cognitive accessibility
  • age-friendly design
  • linear interaction
  • cognitive decline
  • user interface design
  • gerontology