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• AudioGraf: A Diagram-Reader for the Blind

  Andrea R. Kennel · 1996 · Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper from ETH Zürich presents AudioGraf, a system that enables blind and visually impaired users to read diagrams through a combination of touch panel input and auditory display. The core problem addressed is that diagrams — widely used in technical reports and papers to…

  blindness and low vision · auditory display · tactile graphics · diagram accessibility · non-visual access

• TDraw: A Computer-Based Tactile Drawing Tool for Blind People

  Martin Kurze · 1996 · Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper from Freie Universität Berlin presents TDraw, a computer-based system that enables blind people to create tactile drawings and, equally importantly, allows researchers to study how blind people draw. The paper begins with a theoretical analysis of how blind and…

  blindness and low vision · tactile graphics · tactile drawing · mental model · spatial cognition

• Enhancing Scanning Input with Non-Speech Sounds

  Stephen A. Brewster, Veli-Pekka Raty, Atte Kortekangas · 1996 · Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper proposes adding structured non-speech sounds (earcons) to scanning input systems used by people with severe motor disabilities who can only operate a single switch. Scanning input works by sequentially highlighting items in a grid; the user presses their switch when…

  scanning input · earcons · sonification · auditory display · switch access

• Interactive Tactile Display System: A Support System for the Visually Disabled to Recognize 3D Objects

  Yoshihiro Kawai, Fumiaki Tomita · 1996 · Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper from the Electrotechnical Laboratory in Tsukuba, Japan describes an interactive tactile display system that combines stereo computer vision with a pin-based tactile display and voice synthesis to help blind users recognize three-dimensional objects and environments.…

  blindness and low vision · tactile display · stereo vision · computer vision · 3D object recognition

• Development of Dialogue Systems for a Mobility Aid for Blind People: Initial Design and Usability Testing

  Thomas Strothotte, Steffi Fritz, Rainer Michel, Andreas Raab, Helen Petrie, Valerie Johnson, Lars Reichert, Axel Schalt · 1996 · Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper presents the MoBIC Travel Aid (MoTA), an EU-funded system designed to increase independent mobility for blind and elderly travellers by combining Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with the Global Positioning System (GPS). The system has two complementary…

  blindness and low vision · navigation · GPS · GIS · orientation and mobility

• Emacspeak — Direct Speech Access

  T. V. Raman · 1996 · Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper by T. V. Raman (then at Adobe Systems, developed while at Digital Equipment Corporation's Cambridge Research Lab) presents Emacspeak, a speech output subsystem for Emacs that provides what the author terms "direct speech access" to UNIX workstations. Raman draws a…

  screen reader · speech output · blindness and low vision · UNIX accessibility · text-to-speech

• The Keybowl: An Ergonomically Designed Document Processing Device

  Peter J. McAlindon, Kay M. Stanney · 1996 · Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper from the University of Central Florida presents the Keybowl, a novel alphanumeric input device designed as an ergonomic alternative to the standard QWERTY keyboard for users with upper extremity disabilities and for preventing carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). The Keybowl…

  ergonomics · alternative input · keyboard design · carpal tunnel syndrome · repetitive strain injury

• "Composability": Widening Participation in Music Making for People with Disabilities via Music Software and Controller Solutions

  Tim Anderson, Clare Smith · 1996 · Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper from the Drake Music Project and University of York discusses enabling visually impaired and physically disabled people to compose and perform music through adapted software and controller solutions. The Drake Music Project (DMP), a UK charity founded in 1988,…

  music accessibility · creative arts · MIDI · adaptive technology · physical disability

• A Study of Input Device Manipulation Difficulties

  Shari Trewin · 1996 · Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper from the University of Edinburgh describes a pilot study designed to gather detailed, quantified data about physical input errors made by people with motor disabilities when using standard keyboards and mice. The author identifies a significant gap: despite widespread…

  motor disability · keyboard accessibility · mouse accessibility · input errors · performance errors

• A Generic Direct-Manipulation 3D-Auditory Environment for Hierarchical Navigation in Non-Visual Interaction

  Anthony Savidis, Constantine Stephanidis, Andreas Korte, Kai Crispien, Klaus Fellbaum · 1996 · Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper presents a generic, reusable 3D-auditory environment designed to support hierarchical navigation in non-visual user interfaces. The authors address a significant gap in assistive technology development: while 3D audio had been used in a few specialized systems for…

  non-visual interaction · auditory interface · 3D audio · spatial audio · gesture recognition

• Combining Haptic and Braille Technologies: Design Issues and Pilot Study

  Christophe Ramstein · 1996 · Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper presents the Pantobraille, a novel device that combines a single braille cell with a pantograph-based force feedback device to allow blind users to navigate and read content on graphical user interfaces. Developed as part of the CITI PC-Access project, the device…

  braille · haptic technology · force feedback · braille display · tactile accessibility

• Improving the Usability of Speech-Based Interfaces for Blind Users

  Ian J. Pitt, Alistair D. N. Edwards · 1996 · Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper from the University of York examines the usability problems inherent in speech-based interfaces for blind computer users and presents a study comparing how blind and sighted subjects process information delivered through synthetic speech. The authors identify six key…

  blindness and low vision · screen reader · speech synthesis · usability · speech dialogue design

• Hyperbraille: a hypertext system for the blind

  T. Kieninger, N. Kuhn · 1994 · Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This 1994 paper presents Hyperbraille, a system designed to make hypertext documents accessible to blind users through braille output devices. The research addresses a fundamental challenge: hypertext systems rely heavily on visual cues such as highlighted or colored text to…

  Braille · hypertext · blind users · navigation · document analysis

• Audio formatting of a graph

  S. H. Zhang, M. Krishnamoorthy · 1994 · Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This 1994 paper introduces Audio Formatting of a Graph (AFG), a software package designed to make graph theory accessible to visually impaired students and researchers. Graph theory — the mathematical study of relationships between objects represented as nodes and edges — relies…

  sonification · graph theory · blind users · audio representation · mathematics accessibility

• Personal guidance system for the visually impaired

  J. M. Loomis, R. G. Golledge, R. L. Klatzky, J. M. Speigle, J. Tietz · 1994 · Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This 1994 paper outlines the design and progress of a portable navigation system intended to enable visually impaired individuals to travel independently through both familiar and unfamiliar environments. The system integrates three core functional components: a positioning and…

  navigation · blind users · GPS · geographic information system · wayfinding

• Iconic language design for people with significant speech and multiple impairments

  P. L. Albacete, S.-K. Chang, G. Polese, B. Baker · 1994 · Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper presents a formal methodology for designing iconic languages used in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems for people with significant speech and multiple impairments (SSMI). The authors build on the Minspeak system, conceived by co-author Bruce…

  AAC · iconic language · semantic compaction · Minspeak · speech impairment

• A system for teaching speech to profoundly deaf children using synthesized acoustic and articulatory patterns

  E. Keate, H. Javkin, N. Antonanzas-Barroso, R. Zou · 1994 · Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper describes a PC-based computer-assisted speech training system for profoundly deaf children that integrates a text-to-speech (TTS) synthesizer to generate both acoustic and articulatory models for any typed utterance. The system addresses a fundamental limitation of…

  deaf education · speech training · text-to-speech · palatography · visual feedback

• Interface modeling issues in providing access to GUIs for the visually impaired (panel session)

  A. D. N. Edwards, E. D. Mynatt, J. Thatcher · 1994 · Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This Assets '94 panel session brought together three leading researchers to discuss the fundamental challenge of making graphical user interfaces accessible to blind and visually impaired users. By 1994, the computing world was rapidly transitioning from text-based command-line…

  GUI accessibility · screen reader · blind users · off-screen model · interface modeling

• LVRS: the low vision research system

  M. Krell · 1994 · Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This 1994 paper introduces the Low Vision Research System (LVRS), a computer-based research tool designed for vision researchers developing vision enhancement systems for people with low vision. The system comprises three integrated components: warping software that can…

  low vision · vision enhancement · image processing · image warping · digital video

• Automatic impact sound generation for using in nonvisual interfaces

  A. Darvishi, E. Munteanu, V. Guggiana, H. Schauer, M. Motavalli, M. Rauterberg · 1994 · Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper describes a joint research project between the University of Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) aimed at developing an audio framework for non-visual interfaces based on physically modeled impact sounds. Rather than using arbitrary audio cues…

  sonification · auditory display · non-visual interface · physical modeling · sound synthesis

• Pattern recognition and synthesis for sign language translation system

  M. Ohki, H. Sagawa, T. Sakiyama, E. Oohira, H. Ikeda, H. Fujisawa · 1994 · Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper describes a bidirectional sign language translation system being developed to translate between Japanese Sign Language (JSL) and written Japanese. The system addresses both directions of translation: recognizing sign language input and converting it to Japanese text,…

  sign language recognition · sign language synthesis · Japanese Sign Language · gesture recognition · DataGlove

• Screen Reader/2: Access to OS/2 and the Graphical User Interface

  Jim Thatcher · 1994 · Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper describes IBM Screen Reader/2, a screen access system that enabled blind users to interact with the OS/2 graphical user interface (GUI), Windows programs running under OS/2, and text-mode DOS and OS/2 programs. The system evolved from nearly a decade of development…

  screen readers · graphical user interface · blind users · off-screen model · text-to-speech

• A communication tool for people with disabilities: lexical semantics for filling in the pieces

  Kathleen F. McCoy, Patrick W. Demasco, Mark A. Jones, Christopher A. Pennington, Peter B. Vanderheyden, Wendy M. Zickus · 1994 · Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper presents a prototype communication tool designed to reduce the input burden for people with severe speech and motor impairments (SSMI) who use word-based augmentative communication systems. The core problem addressed is that even with word-prediction and word-based…

  augmentative and alternative communication · natural language processing · lexical semantics · text generation · motor impairment

• Interactive audio documents

  T. V. Raman, David Gries · 1994 · Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper describes the browsing component of AsTeR (Audio System for Technical Readings), an interactive computing system developed by T. V. Raman that audio-formats electronic documents written in LaTeX to produce navigable audio documents. The paper addresses a fundamental…

  mathematical accessibility · audio formatting · screen readers · document accessibility · blind and low vision

• The application of spatialization and spatial metaphor to augmentative and alternative communication

  Patrick Demasco, Alan F. Newell, John L. Arnott · 1994 · Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper presents a collaborative project between the University of Delaware and the University of Dundee investigating how spatialization and spatial metaphors from mainstream HCI research can improve interfaces for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). The…

  augmentative and alternative communication · spatial interface · human-computer interaction · lexical access · information visualization