Literature Reviews

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

• Participatory Design Using Sensory Substitution Devices with Tactile and Audio Feedback

  Ella Tuson, Samantha Hughson, Christina Zymaris, Ryan King (2017) — Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This student research paper describes a participatory design study with a single blind participant (TC, blind from birth) to develop a sensory substitution device that provides a physical experience of spatial awareness through tactile or auditory fe…

  • sensory substitution
  • blindness
  • haptic feedback
  • participatory design
  • tactile accessibility
  • assistive technology
  • prototyping

• Bend Passwords on BendyPass: A User Authentication Method for People with Vision Impairment

  Daniella Briotto Faustino, Audrey Girouard (2018) — Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '18)

  This demonstration paper presents BendyPass, a flexible silicone device that allows people with vision impairments to enter passwords through physical bend and fold gestures rather than typing PINs or text passwords. The project addresses a significa…

  • visual impairment
  • security
  • user authentication
  • deformable user interface
  • haptic feedback
  • shoulder surfing
  • prototyping

• What Not to Wearable: Using Participatory Workshops to Explore Wearable Device Form Factors for Blind Users

  Michele A. Williams, Erin Buehler, Amy Hurst, Shaun K. Kane (2015) — Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper documents two participatory design workshops conducted with a team of eight visually impaired adults to explore features and form factors for a wearable navigation device. The research team met monthly over nine months as a "design team," …

  • wearable technology
  • participatory design
  • blind users
  • navigation
  • assistive technology
  • prototyping
  • co-design
  • form factor design

• 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

• A Low-Fidelity Prototyping Method for Blind Users: A Case Study on Designing Two-Dimensional Tactile Displays

  Sara Alzalabny, Karin Müller, Kathrin Gerling, Thorsten Schwarz, Bastian Rapp, Rainer Stiefelhagen (2025) — ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper addresses the fundamental problem that design workshops—a key method for involving end users in technology development—are largely inaccessible to blind people due to their reliance on visual methods like sketching, storyboarding, and visu…

  • blindness
  • low vision
  • prototyping
  • co-design
  • tactile display
  • design workshops
  • assistive technology design
  • participatory design
  • haptic interaction