Literature Reviews — A11y Paradise

AuslanSpell: An Interactive Technology for Improving Auslan Fingerspelling Comprehension

Kalin Stefanov, Andre Ky Pham, Antony Smith Loose, Lucy M Robertson-Bell, Louisa Jane Vaughan Willoughby (2026) — Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

AuslanSpell is an interactive learning tool that converts arbitrary English text into 3D motion-captured animations of Australian Sign Language (Auslan) fingerspelling, targeting hearing learners who struggle with the hardest part of sign-language le…

Variable frame rate for low power mobile sign language communication

Neva Cherniavsky, Anna C. Cavender, Richard E. Ladner, Eve A. Riskin (2007) — Proceedings of the 9th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '07)

This paper from the University of Washington MobileASL team — Neva Cherniavsky, Anna Cavender, Richard Ladner, and Eve Riskin — addresses a then-emerging problem: enabling Deaf people in the United States to hold real-time American Sign Language conv…

A Parametric Approach to Sign Language Synthesis

Amanda Irving, Richard Foulds (2005) — Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

This paper describes a parametric approach to synthesizing American Sign Language (ASL) using a commercially available human avatar (UGS Jack) driven by kinematic parameters. The system addresses the fundamental challenge that signed and spoken langu…

VRML-Based Representations of ASL Fingerspelling on the World Wide Web

S. Augustine Su, Richard K. Furuta (1998) — Proceedings of the Third International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '98)

This paper presents techniques for representing American Sign Language (ASL) fingerspelling using 3D hand models in VRML 2.0 (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) on the World Wide Web. The authors argue that VRML offers a more effective way to documen…

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…

Real-Time Depth-Camera Based Hand Tracking for ASL Recognition

Brandon Taylor, Anind Dey, Daniel Siewiorek, Asim Smailagic (2017) — Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

This demonstration paper validates the use of a publicly available real-time hand tracking algorithm (Sphere-Mesh) for recognizing American Sign Language (ASL) handshapes using a depth camera. Sign Language Recognition (SLR) has long been a motivatin…

Using Convolutional Neural Networks for Visual Sign Language Recognition: Towards a system that provides instant feedback to learners of sign language

Rami Aldahir, Ronald R. Grau (2024) — Proceedings of the 21st International Web for All Conference (W4A)

This short paper presents a prototype system that uses computer vision and a convolutional neural network (CNN) to recognize finger-spelled letters in British Sign Language (BSL), providing real-time feedback to learners. The system addresses a gap i…