Literature Reviews

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

• A Web Navigation Tool for the Blind

  Mary Zajicek, Chris Powell, Chris Reeves (1998) — Proceedings of the Third International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '98)

  This short paper from Oxford Brookes University and the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) presents BrookesTalk, a prototype speech-output web browser designed to help blind users make rapid decisions about whether a web page is useful to …

  • web accessibility
  • blindness
  • information retrieval
  • screen readers
  • text summarization
  • nonvisual web access
  • web browsers

• Auditory Navigation in Hyperspace: Design and Evaluation of a Non-Visual Hypermedia System for Blind Users

  Sarah Morley, Helen Petrie, Anne-Marie O'Neill, Peter McNally (1998) — Proceedings of the Third International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '98)

  This paper from the University of Hertfordshire's Sensory Disabilities Research Unit presents the design and rigorous evaluation of DAHNI (Demonstrator of the ACCESS media Non-Visual Interface), a hypermedia system built specifically for blind users …

  • auditory interface
  • blindness
  • non-speech sounds
  • hypermedia
  • nonvisual navigation
  • user-centred design
  • evaluation methodology
  • assistive technology
  • earcons

• User Interface of a Home Page Reader

  Chieko Asakawa, Takashi Itoh (1998) — Proceedings of the Third International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '98)

  This paper from IBM Japan's Tokyo Research Laboratory describes the design and evaluation of Home Page Reader, one of the earliest dedicated web browsers for blind users, which became an IBM Japan product in October 1997. The paper opens by framing t…

  • screen readers
  • web accessibility
  • blindness
  • text-to-speech
  • nonvisual web access
  • user interface design
  • assistive technology

• A Model of Keyboard Configuration Requirements

  Shari Trewin, Helen Pain (1998) — Proceedings of the Third International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '98)

  This paper from the University of Edinburgh presents a user model — a computer program that observes a person's typing behaviour and automatically identifies keyboard difficulties, then recommends appropriate configuration settings. The model address…

  • keyboard accessibility
  • motor impairment
  • user modelling
  • assistive technology
  • input devices
  • adaptive interfaces
  • empirical studies

• The Use of Gestures in Multimodal Input

  Simeon Keates, Peter Robinson (1998) — Proceedings of the Third International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '98)

  This paper from the University of Cambridge describes the development and evaluation of a prototype multimodal input system designed for users with motion impairments, for whom standard keyboard and mouse arrangements are often unusable. The system c…

  • gesture recognition
  • multimodal input
  • motor impairment
  • user studies
  • cognitive load
  • head tracking
  • assistive technology
  • human-computer interaction

• Smart Rooms, Desks, and Clothes

  Alexander Pentland (1998) — Proceedings of the Third International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '98)

  This keynote address from Assets '98, delivered by Alexander Pentland of MIT's Media Laboratory, outlines a vision for transforming everyday objects — rooms, desks, clothing, cars, and eyeglasses — into intelligent, perceptive systems that actively a…

  • smart environments
  • wearable computing
  • perceptual computing
  • ambient intelligence
  • adaptive environments
  • multimodal interfaces
  • assistive technology

• Expanded Interactions: Broadening Human-Centered Computing

  Richard A. Foulds, Arthur W. Joyce (1998) — Proceedings of the Third International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '98)

  This paper reports on the preliminary results of an NSF-sponsored invitational workshop titled "Expanded Interaction: Broadening Human-Centered Computing," held at the Winterthur Museum and A.I. duPont Institute in Wilmington, Delaware in May 1997. A…

  • human-centered computing
  • universal design
  • universal access
  • multimodal interaction
  • inclusive design
  • disability
  • research agenda
  • human-computer interaction

• Alliance for Technology Access: Making Assistive Technology Accessible to the Community

  Mary Ann Glicksman (1998) — Proceedings of the Third International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '98)

  This one-page briefing paper describes the Alliance for Technology Access (ATA), a national network of over 40 community-based, consumer-driven technology resource centers headquartered in San Rafael, California. At the time of publication, the netwo…

  • assistive technology
  • community resources
  • disability rights
  • technology access
  • organizational accessibility
  • advocacy

• Towards an EOG-Based Eye Tracker for Computer Control

  David W. Patmore, R. Benjamin Knapp (1998) — Proceedings of the Third International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '98)

  This paper describes the development of an eye tracking system for computer control based on bio-electrical signals, intended as a pointing device for people with physical disabilities. The system combines two complementary biosignal approaches: the …

  • eye tracking
  • electrooculogram
  • alternative input
  • motor disability
  • bio-electrical signal
  • assistive technology
  • visual evoked potential
  • fuzzy logic

• Automatic Babble Recognition for Early Detection of Speech Related Disorders

  Harriet J. Fell, Joel MacAuslan, Karen Chenausky, Linda J. Ferrier (1998) — Proceedings of the Third International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '98)

  This paper presents the Early Vocalization Analyzer (EVA), a program that automatically analyzes digitized recordings of infant babbling to detect syllable boundaries, with the goal of screening infants who may be at risk for later communication prob…

  • early intervention
  • speech technology
  • child development
  • speech disorders
  • babbling
  • acoustic analysis
  • developmental disabilities
  • screening