Literature Reviews

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

• ScratchThat: Supporting Command-Agnostic Speech Repair in Voice-Driven Assistants

  Jason Wu, Karan Ahuja, Richard Li, Victor Chen, Jeffrey Bigham (2019) — Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies

  This paper presents ScratchThat, a command-agnostic speech repair system for voice-driven virtual assistants that allows users to naturally correct voice commands without repeating entire queries. Current voice assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant…

  • voice interface
  • speech recognition
  • conversational agents
  • error correction
  • natural language processing
  • smart speakers
  • virtual assistants
  • usability

• Overcoming Speech Barriers: Non-Verbal Voice Cue Interaction Technique for Enhancing Smart Voice Assistant Accessibility for Individuals with Dysarthria

  Aisha Jaddoh, Fernando Loizides, Khadijah Alreafai, Omer Rana (2025) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study presents DARIA (DysARthrIA), a novel smart voice assistant interaction system that uses non-verbal voice cues instead of spoken words and sentences. The system addresses a critical accessibility gap: commercial voice assistants like Alexa …

  • dysarthria
  • speech impairment
  • voice assistants
  • smart speakers
  • non-verbal interaction
  • assistive technology
  • speech recognition
  • ability-based design

• Situated Understanding of Errors in Older Adults' Interactions with Voice Assistants: A Month-Long, In-Home Study

  Amama Mahmood, Junxiang Wang, Chien-Ming Huang (2026) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This month-long field study examined how 15 older adults (ages 66-94) interact with voice assistants in their homes, with a particular focus on errors and conversational breakdowns. The researchers deployed Amazon Echo Dot smart speakers augmented wi…

  • voice assistants
  • older adults
  • conversational AI
  • errors
  • smart speakers
  • large language models
  • aging
  • speech recognition
  • in-home study

• A Collaborative Approach to Support Medication Management in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment Using Conversational Assistants (CAs)

  Niharika Mathur, Kunal Dhodapkar, Tamara Zubatiy, Jiachen Li, Brian Jones, Elizabeth Mynatt (2022) — Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This paper presents MATCHA (Medication Action To Check-In for Health Application), a conversational medication management system built as a Google Action for the Google Home Hub, designed specifically for older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment (…

  • mild cognitive impairment
  • older adults
  • medication management
  • conversational assistants
  • smart speakers
  • voice interface
  • aging
  • caregiving

• Exploring Smart Speaker User Experience for People Who Stammer

  Anna Bleakley, Daniel Rough, Abi Roper, Stephen Lindsay, Martin Porcheron, Minha Lee, Stuart Alan Nicholson, Benjamin R. Cowan, Leigh Clark (2022) — Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This paper investigates how people who stammer experience smart speakers in their daily lives over a three-week period. The researchers deployed Google Nest devices in the homes of 11 participants (mean age 33, recruited through the STAMMA charity in…

  • stammering
  • stuttering
  • speech disfluency
  • smart speakers
  • voice interface
  • speech recognition
  • conversational user interface
  • user experience
  • diary study
  • speech and language therapy

• Screen or No Screen? Lessons Learnt from a Real-World Deployment Study of Using Voice Assistants With and Without Touchscreen for Older Adults

  Zhenyu Chen, Yijun Lin, Jiaxin Li, Qiuchen Qian, Mingzhe Li, Jikun Peng, Yuhang Zhao (2023) — ASSETS 2023: The 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper presents a 40-day within-subjects deployment study examining how older adults interact with voice assistants (VAs) with and without touchscreen capability. Sixteen participants (mean age 82.5 years), all living independently, used an Amazo…

  • voice assistants
  • older adults
  • smart speakers
  • smart displays
  • touchscreen
  • aging in place
  • deployment study
  • multimodal interaction
  • usability

• Investigating Day-to-day Experiences with Conversational Agents by Users with Traumatic Brain Injury

  Hu, Yaxin, Lim, Hajin, Johnson, Hailey L., O'Shaughnessy, Josephine M., Kakonge, Lisa, Turkstra, Lyn, Duff, Melissa, Toma, Catalina, Mutlu, Bilge (2023) — Proceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper presents a four-week in-the-wild field study investigating how nine adults with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the chronic stage (1-19 years post-injury) used Amazon Alexa on Echo Dot devices in their homes. TBI can cau…

  • traumatic brain injury
  • conversational agents
  • voice assistants
  • cognitive accessibility
  • assistive technology
  • mental health
  • rehabilitation
  • smart speakers
  • in-the-wild study

• Blind Leading the Sighted: Drawing Design Insights from Blind Users towards More Productivity-oriented Voice Interfaces

  Ali Abdolrahmani, Kevin M. Storer, Antony Rishin Mukkath Roy, Ravi Kuber, Stacy M. Branham (2020) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This paper investigates how people who are blind use voice-activated personal assistants (VAPAs) like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Siri, arguing that blind users are expert voice interface users whose insights can improve VAPA design for…

  • voice user interface
  • voice-activated personal assistant
  • blindness
  • visual impairment
  • smart speakers
  • productivity
  • podcast analysis
  • usability