Literature Reviews

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

• Sasayaki: Augmented Voice Web Browsing Experience

  Daisuke Sato, Shaojian Zhu, Masatomo Kobayashi, Hironobu Takagi, Chieko Asakawa (2011) — Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '11)

  This paper introduces Sasayaki (Japanese for 'whisper'), a prototype that augments the standard screen-reader voice with a second, physically separated synthesised voice that whispers contextually relevant hints — for example 'entering main content',…

  • screen readers
  • auditory interface
  • voice browser
  • web accessibility
  • blindness and low vision
  • non-visual interaction
  • assistive technology
  • multimodal
  • speech technology

• On the Audio Representation of Radial Direction

  Susumu Harada, Hironobu Takagi, Chieko Asakawa (2011) — Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '11)

  This paper proposes a new primitive for auditory displays — radial direction — and evaluates a concrete mapping of vowel-like sounds to eight cardinal and ordinal directions. The authors observe that almost all prior sonification work has mapped data…

  • sonification
  • auditory display
  • auditory interface
  • non-visual interaction
  • eyes-free interaction
  • navigation
  • blindness and low vision
  • assistive technology
  • human-computer interaction

• BBeep: A Sonic Collision Avoidance System for Blind Travellers and Nearby Pedestrians

  Seita Kayukawa, Keita Higuchi, João Guerreiro, Shigeo Morishima, Yoichi Sato, Kris Kitani, Chieko Asakawa (2019) — Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '19)

  This paper presents BBeep, an assistive suitcase-shaped system designed to help blind travellers navigate crowded public spaces such as international airports, train stations, and shopping malls. The authors argue that existing blind-navigation resea…

  • blind navigation
  • obstacle avoidance
  • collision avoidance
  • assistive technology
  • wearable technology
  • computer vision
  • pedestrian detection
  • sonification
  • auditory interface
  • orientation and mobility
  • indoor navigation
  • blindness and low vision

• PLUMB: Displaying Graphs to the Blind Using an Active Auditory Interface

  Robert F. Cohen, Rui Yu, Arthur Meacham, Joelle Skaff (2005) — Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This short paper presents PLUMB (exPLoring graphs at UMB), a system developed at UMass Boston that enables blind users to explore relational graphs through an active auditory interface on a tablet PC. The system addresses a fundamental barrier in com…

  • sonification
  • graph accessibility
  • blindness
  • auditory interface
  • computer science education
  • non-visual interaction
  • data visualization
  • STEM accessibility

• Nonvisual Tool for Navigating Hierarchical Structures

  Ann C. Smith, Justin S. Cook, Joan M. Francioni, Asif Hossain, Mohd Anwar, M. Fayezur Rahman (2004) — Proceedings of the 6th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets 04)

  This paper presents the Aural Tree Navigator, an Eclipse IDE plug-in that enables blind programmers to navigate hierarchical program structures (such as package explorers, class hierarchies, and file systems) using keyboard commands and speech/sound …

  • IDE accessibility
  • visual impairment
  • programming
  • screen reader
  • tree navigation
  • auditory interface
  • software development
  • Eclipse
  • earcon
  • STEM accessibility

• Sketching Images Eyes-Free: A Grid-Based Dynamic Drawing Tool for the Blind

  Hesham M. Kamel, James A. Landay (2002) — Proceedings of the Fifth International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets 02)

  This paper presents IC2D (Integrated Communication 2 Draw), a keyboard-operated drawing tool that enables blind users to create and explore graphical images using a grid-based auditory interface. The system divides the screen into a 3x3 grid mapped t…

  • blindness
  • drawing
  • graphics
  • auditory interface
  • grid-based interface
  • nonvisual interaction
  • creativity
  • user study

• A Java Programming Tool for Students with Visual Disabilities

  Ann C. Smith, Joan M. Francioni, Sam D. Matzek (2000) — Proceedings of the Fourth International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '00)

  This paper presents JavaSpeak, a specialized programming environment designed to make learning Java accessible to students with visual disabilities. The authors, computer science educators at Saint Mary's University and Winona State University, ident…

  • programming education
  • visual impairment
  • screen reader
  • code accessibility
  • auditory interface
  • assistive technology
  • STEM accessibility

• Conversational Gestures for Direct Manipulation on the Audio Desktop

  T. V. Raman (1998) — Proceedings of the Third International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '98)

  This paper by T. V. Raman of Adobe Systems' Advanced Technology Group presents a systematic methodology for designing auditory interfaces by decomposing visual interaction into "conversational gestures" — the atomic building blocks of human-computer …

  • auditory interface
  • audio desktop
  • speech-enabling
  • conversational gestures
  • direct manipulation
  • non-visual interaction
  • blind users
  • Emacspeak
  • auditory icons
  • game accessibility

• 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

• A Generic Direct-Manipulation 3D-Auditory Environment for Hierarchical Navigation in Non-Visual Interaction

  Anthony Savidis, Constantine Stephanidis, Andreas Korte, Kai Crispien, Klaus Fellbaum (1996) — Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper presents a generic, reusable 3D-auditory environment designed to support hierarchical navigation in non-visual user interfaces. The authors address a significant gap in assistive technology development: while 3D audio had been used in a fe…

  • non-visual interaction
  • auditory interface
  • 3D audio
  • spatial audio
  • gesture recognition
  • voice input
  • assistive technology
  • toolkit design
  • hierarchical navigation