Literature Reviews — A11y Paradise

RegionSpeak: Quick Comprehensive Spatial Descriptions of Complex Images for Blind Users

Yu Zhong, Walter S. Lasecki, Erin Brady, Jeffrey P. Bigham (2015) — Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2015)

This paper introduces RegionSpeak, a mobile application that helps blind users get comprehensive spatial descriptions of complex visual scenes by combining image stitching with parallelized crowdsourced labeling. The authors identify a gap in existin…

Evaluation of Haptic HTML Mappings Derived from a Novel Methodology

Ravi Kuber, Wai Yu, Sile O'Modhrain (2011) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

This paper presents a comprehensive evaluation of haptic HTML mappings designed to help blind users navigate web pages using a Logitech Wingman force-feedback mouse. The research builds on a novel five-step participatory design methodology that activ…

A Participatory Design Approach to Creating Echolocation-Enabled Virtual Environments

Ronny Andrade, Steven Baker, Jenny Waycott, Frank Vetere (2022) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

This participatory design study investigates how echolocation can be implemented in virtual environments to make them accessible to people with visual impairment. The researchers worked with three expert echolocators—people who have developed the abi…

Using Dynamic Audio Feedback to Support Peripersonal Reaching in Visually Impaired People

Graham Wilson, Stephen A. Brewster (2015) — ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

This demonstration paper explores how dynamic audio feedback can help blind and visually impaired people locate and reach for objects in their immediate (peripersonal) space. The research addresses an important developmental challenge: blind children…

Developing a Wearable Tactile Prototype to Support Situational Awareness

Flynn Wolf (2016) — Proceedings of the 13th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

This doctoral consortium paper from UMBC describes dissertation research into head-mounted tactile displays for spatial and situational awareness, with applications for people who are blind and those experiencing situational impairments. The research…

Uncovering Visually Impaired Gamers' Preferences for Spatial Awareness Tools Within Video Games

Vishnu Nair, Shao-en Ma, Ricardo E. Gonzalez Penuela, Yicheng He, Karen Lin, Mason Hayes, Hannah Huddleston, Matthew Donnelly, Brian A. Smith (2022) — Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

This paper investigates how visually impaired players (VIPs) gain spatial awareness within 3D video games by comparing four leading spatial awareness tool (SAT) approaches. The researchers built Dungeon Escape, a 3D third-person adventure game using …

Speed-of-Light VR for Blind People: Conveying the Location of Arm-Reach Targets

Diogo Lança, Manuel Piçarra, Inês Gonçalves, Uran Oh, André Rodrigues, João Guerreiro (2024) — Proceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2024)

This paper explores how blind people can locate and interact with close-range virtual objects in Virtual Reality (VR), a space that relies almost entirely on visual cues. Researchers from the University of Lisbon and Ewha Womans University adapted th…