Literature Reviews

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

• Establishing a Serious Game on Relationship Boundaries for People with Developmental Disabilities

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

  This short paper presents "Boundaries," a serious game designed to help adults with developmental disabilities explore and discuss personal relationship boundaries — a topic motivated by alarming statistics on sexual violence against this population.…

  • developmental disability
  • serious games
  • safeguarding
  • sexuality
  • cognitive accessibility
  • social cognition
  • game accessibility
  • education

• "If you've gone straight, now, you must turn left" - Exploring the use of a tangible interface in a collaborative treasure hunt for people with visual impairments

  Quentin Chibaudel, Wafa Johal, Bernard Oriola, Marc J-M Macé, Pierre Dillenbourg, Valérie Tartas, Christophe Jouffrais (2020) — Proceedings of the 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2020)

  This paper from a collaboration between IRIT (Toulouse), UNSW Sydney, EPFL, and Université Toulouse investigates how tangible user interfaces — specifically a small graspable robot called the Cellulo — can mediate collaboration between two people wit…

  • visual impairments
  • tangible user interface
  • collaborative learning
  • spatial cognition
  • wayfinding
  • haptic feedback
  • robots
  • serious games
  • 3D models
  • non-visual interaction

• Screening Risk of Dyslexia Through a Web-Game Using Language-Independent Content and Machine Learning

  Maria Rauschenberger, Ricardo Baeza-Yates, Luz Rello (2020) — Proceedings of the 17th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper presents MusVis, a web-based game designed to screen for dyslexia risk using language-independent content and machine learning, enabling potential early detection even in pre-readers who have not yet developed literacy skills. Dyslexia aff…

  • dyslexia
  • machine learning
  • screening
  • serious games
  • gamification
  • auditory perception
  • visual perception
  • early intervention
  • language-independent

• The story behind Dytective: how we brought research results on dyslexia and accessibility to Spanish public schools

  Luz Rello (2022) — Proceedings of the 19th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This invited talk paper presents the decade-long research and entrepreneurial journey behind Dytective, a platform that combines machine learning and gamified exercises to detect risk of dyslexia and provide personalized interventions. Dyslexia affec…

  • dyslexia
  • machine learning
  • screening
  • serious games
  • social entrepreneurship
  • reading accessibility
  • education
  • Spanish language

• Amaze3D: Making 3D Worlds Accessible to Blind Gamers

  Greg Gay, Matthew Ralston (2023) — Proceedings of the 20th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This extended abstract presents Amaze3D (The Accessibility Maze 3D), a proof-of-concept demonstrating that Unity-based 3D game worlds can be made independently navigable by blind players. Built as a WebGL-based 3D adaptation of an earlier 2D JavaScri…

  • game accessibility
  • blind users
  • Unity
  • 3D worlds
  • educational games
  • serious games
  • spatial navigation
  • screen reader

• The Treatment of Amblyopia and Astigmatism through Eye Tracking and Serious Games

  Tahani Jaser Alahmadi, Rania AlAblani, Najla Bin Eid, Reyoof AlHumaidi, Amal AlMeiman, Farah AlNujaidi (2024) — Proceedings of the 21st International Web for All Conference (W4A '24)

  This paper presents Abs'arnna, a mobile application that combines serious games with eye-tracking technology to treat amblyopia (lazy eye) and astigmatism in children. The authors from Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University in Saudi Arabia addre…

  • serious games
  • eye tracking
  • vision therapy
  • assistive technology
  • pediatric accessibility
  • gamification

• Color-Coded Emotional Learning Serious Games for Children with Autism: Foregrounding Facial Expression Recognition & Accessibility

  Tahani Jaser Alahmadi, Haifa Albahli, Modhi Alqahtani, Hind Bin Mehaya, Imtinan Alqahtani, Joory Alotaibi (2025) — Proceedings of the 22nd International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This technical note presents Muheet, a mobile application that uses color-emotion associations and AI-based facial expression recognition to help children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) understand and recognize emotions. ASD affects approximatel…

  • autism
  • emotional learning
  • serious games
  • facial expression recognition
  • machine learning
  • cognitive accessibility
  • children
  • color-emotion association