Literature Reviews — A11y Paradise

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…

As Content and Layout Co-Evolve: TangibleSite for Scaffolding Blind People's Webpage Design through Multimodal Interaction

Jiasheng Li, Zining Zhang, Zeyu Yan, Matthew Wong, Arnav Mittal, Ge Gao, Huaishu Peng (2026) — Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

This CHI 2026 paper investigates how blind designers can author webpages end-to-end — generating content and arranging layout iteratively — rather than being limited to either content entry or layout inspection. The authors ran two rounds of co-desig…

Collaborative Music Application for Visually Impaired People with Tangible Objects on Table

Shotaro Omori, Ikuko Eguchi Yairi (2013) — Proceedings of the 15th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

This short paper presents a collaborative music composition application designed to enable visually impaired and sighted people to work together on equal ground. The system uses a tabletop tangible interface inspired by Reactable, where physical obje…

Evaluation of the Use of Real-time 3D Graphics to Augment Therapeutic Music Sessions for Young People on the Autism Spectrum

J. J. McGowan, I. McGregor, G. Leplâtre (2021) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

CymaSense is a real-time 3D visualization application based on cymatics—the study of making sound visible through vibration patterns—designed to augment therapeutic music sessions for autistic individuals. The system maps audio parameters to visual e…

It's Hip to Be Square: A Tangible User Interface for Quadrilateral Learning

Scott George Lambert, Adish Pawar, Taliesin L. Smith, Jennifer Tennison, Emily B. Moore, Jenna Gorlewicz (2025) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

This paper presents the Smart Quad, a tangible user interface (TUI) designed to make geometry learning accessible through physical manipulation of four-sided shapes. The Smart Quad pairs via Bluetooth with the PhET Quadrilateral Simulation, creating …

A Tangible Math Game for Visually Impaired Children

Ana Cristina Pires, Sebastian Marichal, Fernando Gonzalez-Perilli, Ewelina Bakala, Bruno Fleischer, Gustavo Sansone, Tiago Guerreiro (2019) — Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

This demonstration paper presents iCETA, an inclusive interactive system for math learning that enables visually impaired children to autonomously engage with and solve additive composition tasks (addition and subtraction) through tangible interactio…

"If you've gone straight, now, you must turn left" - Exploring the use of a tangible interface in a collaborative treasure hunt for people with visual impairments

Quentin Chibaudel, Wafa Johal, Bernard Oriola, Marc J-M Macé, Pierre Dillenbourg, Valérie Tartas, Christophe Jouffrais (2020) — Proceedings of the 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2020)

This paper from a collaboration between IRIT (Toulouse), UNSW Sydney, EPFL, and Université Toulouse investigates how tangible user interfaces — specifically a small graspable robot called the Cellulo — can mediate collaboration between two people wit…