Literature Reviews

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

• Get In Touch with Your Seat: Accessible Seat Localization for Blind and Low Vision Travelers in Autonomous Shuttles

  Paul D. S. Fink, Justin R. Brown, Raina M. Movalia, Kyle J. James, Margaret E. Kastelein, Jacob Bond, Morgan E. Andrulis, Nicholas A. Giudice (2026) — Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '26)

  Fink, Brown, Movalia, and colleagues (University of Maine VEMI Lab, Grand Valley State University, and General Motors Global Research and Development) tackle a segment of the autonomous-vehicle accessibility problem that has received little attention…

  • autonomous vehicles
  • blind and low vision
  • transportation accessibility
  • haptics
  • spatial audio
  • vibro-audio maps
  • multimodal interaction
  • orientation and mobility
  • shared mobility
  • multisensory interface

• User Experience of Autonomous Ferries: What Passengers Need and How to Design for It

  Felix-Marcel Petermann, Ole Andreas Alsos, Mina Saghafian, Erik Veitch, Grace Winifred Turner, Maria Letizia Potenza (2026) — Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  Petermann and colleagues report one of the first in-depth qualitative studies of passenger experience on an autonomous urban ferry, drawing on 164 post-ride semi-structured interviews conducted during a three-week public trial of milliAmpere 2 in Tro…

  • autonomous vehicles
  • autonomous ferry
  • public transport accessibility
  • human-machine interface
  • automation transparency
  • universal design
  • travel chain
  • embodied experience
  • user experience

• The Blind Driver Challenge: Steering Using Haptic Cues

  Burkay Sucu, Eelke Folmer (2014) — Proceedings of the 16th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper presents a haptic steering interface that enables blind individuals to steer a vehicle on a track using vibrotactile cues, addressing the National Federation of the Blind's 2004 "Blind Driver Challenge." While self-driving vehicles could t…

  • blindness
  • haptic feedback
  • mobility
  • autonomous vehicles
  • driving
  • sensory substitution
  • simulation
  • vibrotactile

• Exploring the Needs, Preferences, and Concerns of Persons with Visual Impairments Regarding Autonomous Vehicles

  Julian Brinkley, Earl W. Huff, Briana Posadas, Julia Woodward, Shaundra B. Daily, Juan E. Gilbert (2020) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents two complementary studies exploring the needs, preferences, and concerns of people with visual impairments regarding autonomous vehicles—a technology that could fundamentally transform mobility for those who cannot drive conventio…

  • autonomous vehicles
  • self-driving cars
  • visual impairment
  • mobility
  • transportation accessibility
  • human-machine interface
  • user needs

• Fully Autonomous Vehicles for People with Visual Impairment: Policy, Accessibility, and Future Directions

  Paul D. S. Fink, Jessica A. Holz, Nicholas A. Giudice (2021) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This policy analysis examines how fully autonomous vehicles (FAVs) could transform mobility for people who are blind or visually impaired (BVI), while arguing that current US legislation fails to address their accessibility needs. With over 25 millio…

  • autonomous vehicles
  • transportation policy
  • blindness
  • visual impairment
  • accessible design
  • artificial intelligence
  • mobility

• Opinions and Preferences of Blind and Low Vision Consumers Regarding Self-Driving Vehicles: Results of Focus Group Discussions

  Julian Brinkley, Brianna Posadas, Julia Woodward, Juan E. Gilbert (2017) — Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper explores the opinions, concerns, and preferences of 38 blind and low vision participants regarding self-driving vehicle technology through eight focus group sessions conducted over two days in north central Florida. Participants had a mean…

  • blindness
  • low vision
  • autonomous vehicles
  • accessible transportation
  • mobility
  • independence
  • user research
  • focus groups

• Understanding the Power of Control in Autonomous Vehicles for People with Vision Impairment

  Robin N. Brewer, Vaishnav Kameswaran (2018) — Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2018)

  This University of Michigan study investigates how people with vision impairments perceive control in semi-autonomous versus fully autonomous vehicles, a distinction previous research had not explored. The researchers conducted design-based focus gro…

  • blindness
  • low vision
  • autonomous vehicles
  • accessible transportation
  • independence
  • agency
  • participatory design
  • voice interface
  • haptic technology

• Am I Too Old to Drive? Opinions of Older Adults on Self-Driving Vehicles

  Earl W. Huff, Natalie DellaMaria, Brianna Posadas, Julian Brinkley (2019) — Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This paper explores the opinions, preferences, and concerns of 39 older African American adults (aged 57-91, mean 74) regarding fully autonomous (Level 5) self-driving vehicles through seven focus group sessions conducted over five days in South Caro…

  • autonomous vehicles
  • older adults
  • aging
  • accessible transportation
  • mobility
  • African American
  • intersectionality
  • participatory design
  • driving cessation
  • independence

• It's Enactment Time!: High-fidelity Enactment Stage for Accessible Automated Driving System Technology Research

  Aaron Gluck, Hannah Solini, Julian Brinkley (2022) — Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This pictorial paper documents the iterative design and construction of a high-fidelity enactment stage for researching accessible autonomous vehicle (AV) technology with older adults and people with disabilities. Autonomous vehicles hold transformat…

  • autonomous vehicles
  • accessible transportation
  • user enactment
  • older adults
  • physical disability
  • research methods
  • prototyping
  • human-machine interface
  • inclusive design

• The Future of Urban Accessibility: The Role of AI

  Jon E. Froehlich, Chu Li, Maryam Hosseini, Fabio Miranda, Andres Sevtsuk, Yochai Eisenberg (2024) — Proceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '24)

  This workshop paper examines the emerging role of artificial intelligence in designing equitable and accessible cities, transportation systems, and navigation tools for people with disabilities. The authors — spanning HCI, urban planning, public heal…

  • urban accessibility
  • artificial intelligence
  • smart cities
  • autonomous vehicles
  • pedestrian infrastructure
  • wayfinding
  • built environment
  • computer vision