Literature Reviews

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

• TDraw: A Computer-Based Tactile Drawing Tool for Blind People

  Martin Kurze (1996) — Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper from Freie Universität Berlin presents TDraw, a computer-based system that enables blind people to create tactile drawings and, equally importantly, allows researchers to study how blind people draw. The paper begins with a theoretical ana…

  • blindness and low vision
  • tactile graphics
  • tactile drawing
  • mental model
  • spatial cognition
  • tactile rendering
  • swell paper
  • accessible graphics

• AudioGraf: A Diagram-Reader for the Blind

  Andrea R. Kennel (1996) — Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper from ETH Zürich presents AudioGraf, a system that enables blind and visually impaired users to read diagrams through a combination of touch panel input and auditory display. The core problem addressed is that diagrams — widely used in tech…

  • blindness and low vision
  • auditory display
  • tactile graphics
  • diagram accessibility
  • non-visual access
  • touch panel
  • sonification
  • audio-tactile

• EVA, an Early Vocalization Analyzer: An Empirical Validity Study of Computer Categorization

  Harriet J. Fell, Linda J. Ferrier, Zehra Mooraj, Etienne Benson, Dale Schneider (1996) — Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper from Northeastern University presents EVA (Early Vocalization Analyzer), a Macintosh-based software tool that automatically analyzes digitized recordings of infant vocalizations to support early identification of speech and language delays…

  • early intervention
  • speech and language
  • acoustic analysis
  • infant vocalization
  • babbling
  • developmental disability
  • clinical tools
  • signal processing

• Multimodal Input for Computer Access and Augmentative Communication

  Alice Smith, John Dunaway, Patrick Demasco, Denise Peischl (1996) — Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper from the University of Delaware describes a research project exploring the integration of speech recognition with head-pointing as a multimodal input method for people with physical disabilities who cannot use standard keyboards and mice. …

  • multimodal interaction
  • speech recognition
  • head pointing
  • augmentative and alternative communication
  • assistive technology
  • computer access
  • motor disability
  • alternative input

• Computer Generated 3-Dimensional Models of Manual Alphabet Handshapes for the World Wide Web

  Sarah Geitz, Timothy Hanson, Stephen Maher (1996) — Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper from Gallaudet University and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center presents a web-based teaching tool for learning American Sign Language (ASL) fingerspelling through interactive 3D computer models. The authors created VRML (Virtual Reality Mo…

  • sign language
  • deaf accessibility
  • fingerspelling
  • virtual reality
  • VRML
  • 3D modeling
  • e-learning
  • American Sign Language

• Designing Interface Toolkit with Dynamic Selectable Modality

  Shiro Kawai, Hitoshi Aida, Tadao Saito (1996) — Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper presents the Fruit (Flexible and Rearrangeable User Interface Toolkit) system, an architecture for building user interfaces that allow dynamic switching between interaction modalities at runtime. The authors argue that the rigid coupling b…

  • multimodal interaction
  • user interface design
  • assistive technology
  • abstract widgets
  • toolkit design
  • modality switching
  • screen reader
  • braille

• Designing the World Wide Web for People with Disabilities: A User Centered Design Approach

  Lila F. Laux, Peter R. McNally, Michael G. Paciello, Gregg C. Vanderheiden (1996) — Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This 1996 panel paper brings together four perspectives on making the early World Wide Web accessible to people with disabilities. Lila Laux frames the problem by identifying special user populations — elderly people, those with low incomes, rural an…

  • web accessibility
  • user-centered design
  • assistive technology
  • universal design
  • presentation independence
  • hypermedia
  • pervasive accessible technology

• An Approach to the Evaluation of Assistive Technology

  Robert D. Stevens, Alistair D. N. Edwards (1996) — Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This University of York paper addresses a fundamental challenge in assistive technology research: the difficulty of conducting rigorous evaluations using conventional controlled testing paradigms. The authors identify several obstacles specific to as…

  • assistive technology evaluation
  • mathematical accessibility
  • blind users
  • earcon
  • auditory interface
  • usability testing
  • research methodology
  • STEM accessibility

• A Gesture Recognition Architecture for Sign Language

  Annelies Braffort (1996) — Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper from LIMSI-CNRS in France presents a gesture recognition architecture specifically designed for sign languages, grounded in a detailed linguistic analysis of French Sign Language (LSF). The key insight is that sign languages differ fundame…

  • sign language
  • gesture recognition
  • French Sign Language
  • data glove
  • sign language recognition
  • machine learning
  • Hidden Markov Model
  • deaf accessibility
  • linguistics

• Touching and Hearing GUIs: Design Issues for the PC-Access System

  Christophe Ramstein, Odile Martial, Aude Dufresne, Michel Carignan, Patrick Chassé, Philippe Mabilleau (1996) — Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This 1996 paper from Canada's Centre for Information Technology Innovation presents PC-Access, a pioneering multimodal system that combines haptic (touch) and auditory feedback to make Microsoft Windows graphical user interfaces accessible to visuall…

  • haptic technology
  • force feedback
  • multimodal interface
  • GUI accessibility
  • blind users
  • sonification
  • haptic feedback
  • accessibility history
  • assistive technology