Literature Reviews

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

• SIBYLLE: a system for alternative communication adapting to the context and its user

  Tonio Wandmacher, Jean-Yves Antoine, Franck Poirier (2007) — Proceedings of the 9th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '07)

  This paper describes the latest version of SIBYLLE, an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system developed at the Université François Rabelais and the Université Européenne de Bretagne for users with severe motor and speech impairments …

  • augmentative and alternative communication
  • AAC
  • word prediction
  • virtual keyboard
  • single switch
  • scanning
  • latent semantic analysis
  • language model
  • keystroke saving rate
  • text-to-speech
  • locked-in syndrome
  • cerebral palsy
  • rehabilitation
  • multilingual accessibility
  • natural language processing

• Indirect Text Entry Using One or Two Keys

  Melanie Baljko, Andrew Tam (2006) — Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper introduces a new descriptive model for indirect text entry — text composition methods where the number of input devices (switches) is significantly smaller than the number of selectable characters. This is the primary text entry paradigm f…

  • AAC
  • switch access
  • text entry
  • scanning
  • Huffman coding
  • information theory
  • speech generating devices
  • motor impairment

• Web Accessibility for Low Bandwidth Input

  Jennifer Mankoff, Anind Dey, Udit Batra, Melody Moore (2002) — Proceedings of the Fifth International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets 02)

  This paper addresses web accessibility for users with severe motor and speech impairments who can only produce one to four input signals when interacting with a computer — termed "low bandwidth" users. These include people with locked-in syndrome usi…

  • motor impairment
  • web accessibility
  • switch access
  • low bandwidth input
  • scanning
  • web proxy
  • browser modification
  • locked-in syndrome

• A New Generation of Communication Aids under the ULYSSES Component-Based Framework

  Georgios Kouroupetroglou, Alexandros Pino (2002) — Proceedings of the Fifth International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '02)

  This paper from the University of Athens introduces ULYSSES, a component-based software framework for building customisable AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) devices. The core problem ULYSSES addresses is that AAC users have highly div…

  • augmentative and alternative communication
  • component-based framework
  • software engineering
  • assistive technology
  • speech synthesis
  • switch access
  • symbol communication
  • scanning

• Optimization of Switch Keyboards

  Xiao (Cosmo) Zhang, Kan Fang, Gregory Francis (2013) — Proceedings of the 15th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '13)

  This short paper presents a method for optimizing the character layout of switch keyboards used by people with severe motor control difficulties, including those with locked-in syndrome resulting from spinal cord or brain injury. Switch keyboards wor…

  • switch access
  • text entry
  • motor disability
  • locked-in syndrome
  • keyboard optimization
  • scanning
  • AAC
  • assistive technology
  • spinal cord injury

• Text Entry Using Single-Channel Analog Puff Input

  Adam J. Sporka (2014) — Proceedings of the 16th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility (ASSETS 2014)

  This short demonstration paper presents a prototype text entry system that repurposes a single-channel analog puff input device — specifically the AKAI EWI USB, a MIDI controller designed for woodwind instrument emulation — as an assistive technology…

  • sip-and-puff
  • text entry
  • assistive technology
  • motor disabilities
  • alternative input
  • scanning
  • MIDI
  • analog input

• Conception and Experimentation of a Communication Device with Adaptive Scanning

  Souhir Ghedira, Pierre Pino, Guy Bourhis (2009) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This paper presents an adaptive algorithm for optimizing scanning delay (Tscan) in switch-operated AAC devices, addressing one of the fundamental challenges in scanning-based communication: finding the right balance between speed and error rate. For …

  • AAC
  • scanning
  • switch access
  • motor disabilities
  • adaptive systems
  • human-computer interaction
  • ALS

• Breaking Barriers with Assistive Macros

  André Rodrigues (2015) — ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This paper introduces Assistive Macros, an Android accessibility service that enables users with motor impairments to perform multi-step interactions with a single selection. The system addresses two critical problems: the extreme time consumption of…

  • switch access
  • motor impairment
  • mobile accessibility
  • Android
  • macros
  • scanning
  • assistive technology
  • automation
  • caregivers
  • multi-impairment

• A Usability Study of Nomon: A Flexible Interface for Single-Switch Users

  Nicholas Bonaker, Emli-Mari Nel, Keith Vertanen, Tamara Broderick (2023) — Proceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2023)

  This paper presents the first usability study of Nomon — an alternative single-switch interface — with actual motor-impaired users, comparing it against the widely used row-column scanning (RCS) method. Single-switch interfaces are essential communic…

  • single switch
  • augmentative and alternative communication
  • motor impairment
  • text entry
  • scanning
  • assistive technology
  • input methods