Literature Reviews

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

• Pin City Book: A PCB-based Tangible User Interface for Location-based Puzzle Games

  Yibing Chen, Yutong Liu, Zihan Zhou, Yifan Wang, Sihan Wang, Yunyang Di, Quan Li (2026) — Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’26)

  This CHI 2026 Extended Abstract introduces Pin City Book, a PCB-based tangible user interface (TUI) platform for location-based puzzle games (LBPGs). The authors argue that current LBPGs are split between paper kits (cumbersome, no feedback) and mobi…

  • tangible user interface
  • multimodal interaction
  • location-based games
  • maker accessibility
  • haptic feedback
  • cultural heritage
  • urban play

• AR Haptic-Audio Conversion for Non-Visual Product Understanding in Smartphone AR

  Satomi Tokida, Ayaka Tsutsui, Norimasa Kobori, Matthew Gillingham, Bektur Ryskeldiev (2026) — Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '26)

  Tokida and colleagues (Mercari R4D, University of Tokyo, University of Tsukuba) tackle a specific gap in e-commerce accessibility: the AR 'view-in-room' features now common in online marketplaces (IKEA Place, Amazon AR View) assume sighted interactio…

  • blind and low vision
  • augmented reality
  • mobile AR
  • haptics
  • vibrotactile
  • e-commerce accessibility
  • multimodal interaction
  • non-visual interaction

• 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

• Beyond Additive Design: An Empirical Taxonomy of Multimodal STEM Accessibility Systems

  Madjid Sadallah, Benoit Encelle (2026) — Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '26)

  Sadallah and Encelle conduct a systematic review of 66 multimodal STEM accessibility systems for blind and visually impaired (BVI) users published between 2015 and 2025, drawn from the ACM Digital Library, IEEE Xplore, OpenAlex, PubMed, and Web of Sc…

  • STEM accessibility
  • multimodal interaction
  • cognitive load
  • sensory integration
  • blind and low vision
  • systematic review
  • accessibility research
  • sonification
  • tactile graphics
  • haptics
  • cognitive engineering

• AI4XR: AI in Extended Reality for 3D Scene Editing and Accessibility Design

  Junlong Chen (2026) — Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '26) — Doctoral Consortium

  This CHI '26 Doctoral Consortium paper summarises Junlong Chen's PhD research at the University of Cambridge on integrating AI — specifically large language models (LLMs) and vision-language models (VLMs) — into extended reality (XR) workflows. The r…

  • extended reality
  • virtual reality
  • artificial intelligence
  • large language models
  • vision-language models
  • visual accessibility
  • blind and low vision
  • scene description
  • multimodal interaction
  • doctoral consortium

• Touching a Cat Without Touch: Does Mid-Air Ultrasound Haptic Feedback Promote Relaxation in Virtual Cat Interaction?

  Juro Hosoi, Yuki Ban, Shin'ichi Warisawa (2026) — Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  Hosoi and colleagues investigate whether mid-air ultrasound haptics — tactile sensations produced by focused acoustic radiation pressure, with no device worn on the user's skin — can convey the feel of a virtual cat convincingly enough to support rel…

  • mid-air haptics
  • ultrasound haptics
  • virtual reality
  • haptic feedback
  • human-animal interaction
  • relaxation
  • affective computing
  • non-contact interaction
  • multimodal interaction
  • sensory substitution

• When Audio Is Enough: Design-Tradeoffs in Multi-Story MR Navigation

  Bilgehan Cagiltay, Selim Balcisoy (2026) — Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  This CHI '26 exploratory study asks when an augmented-reality navigation aid can rely on audio alone. The authors argue that visual-first MR interfaces impose extra cognitive load and attention tunneling in high-stakes, cognitively demanding settings…

  • mixed reality
  • audio augmented reality
  • spatial audio
  • indoor navigation
  • wayfinding
  • situational awareness
  • cognitive load
  • attention tunneling
  • blind and low vision
  • multimodal interaction
  • non-visual navigation
  • first responders

• HapticLens: Interactive Vibrotactile Haptic Generation from Spatially Localized Video Motion

  Kevin John, Hasti Seifi (2026) — Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  HapticLens is an interactive method for generating single-actuator vibrotactile signals from arbitrary video content by letting a designer select a spatial region of interest and converting motion within that region into a vibration waveform in real …

  • haptics
  • vibrotactile feedback
  • video-to-haptics
  • computer vision
  • multimodal interaction
  • sensory substitution
  • blind and low vision
  • multimedia accessibility
  • haptic design
  • non-visual access

• VR Calm Plus: Coupling a Squeezable Tangible Interaction with Immersive VR for Stress Regulation

  He Zhang, Xinyang Li, Xingyu Zhou, Xinyi Fu (2026) — Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  Zhang and colleagues build and evaluate VR Calm Plus, a VR stress-regulation system that pairs an immersive Meta Quest 3 experience with a squeezable plush toy instrumented with two force-sensitive resistors (FSRs) and a wireless biosensing wristband…

  • virtual reality
  • stress management
  • haptics
  • affective haptics
  • tangible interaction
  • embodied cognition
  • mental health
  • emotion regulation
  • biofeedback
  • multimodal interaction

• Autiverse: Eliciting Autistic Adolescents' Daily Narratives through AI-guided Multimodal Journaling

  Migyeong Yang, Kyungah Lee, Jinyoung Han, SoHyun Park, Young-Ho Kim (2026) — Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  Yang and colleagues present Autiverse, a tablet-based AI-guided multimodal journaling app for autistic adolescents with functional verbal abilities (formerly classified as Level 1 / high-functioning autism). The paper addresses a well-documented gap:…

  • autism
  • adolescents
  • journaling
  • large language models
  • conversational agents
  • scaffolding
  • visual supports
  • narrative skills
  • multimodal interaction
  • AI peer