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• MathMelodies 2: a Mobile Assistive Application for People with Visual Impairments Developed with React Native

  Niccolò Cantù, Mattia Ducci, Dragan Ahmetovic, Cristian Bernareggi, Sergio Mascetti · 2018 · Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2018)

  This demo paper from the University of Milan and University of Turin reports on MathMelodies 2, a cross-platform math education app for blind and visually impaired (BVI) children in grades 1-5, developed using React Native. The original MathMelodies was iPad-only, developed in…

  blindness · low vision · mathematical accessibility · education · children

• Math Melodies: Supporting Visually Impaired Primary School Students in Learning Math

  Dragan Ahmetovic, Valeria Alampi, Cristian Bernareggi, Andrea Gerino, Sergio Mascetti · 2017 · Proceedings of the 14th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This demonstration paper presents Math Melodies, a free iPad application designed to teach mathematics to primary school children who are blind or visually impaired, while simultaneously engaging sighted peers. Mathematics education poses particular challenges for visually…

  visual impairment · blindness · education accessibility · mathematics accessibility · children

• Scanning for Digital Content: How Blind and Sighted People Perceive Concurrent Speech

  João Guerreiro, Daniel Gonçalves · 2016 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This paper investigates whether blind and sighted people can leverage concurrent speech — multiple audio streams playing simultaneously — to more efficiently scan and identify relevant digital content, exploiting the well-known Cocktail Party Effect. Screen readers currently…

  visual impairment · concurrent speech · auditory interface · screen reader · cocktail party effect

• Tactile Accessibility: Does Anyone Need a Haptic Glove?

  Andrii Soviak, Anatoliy Borodin, Vikas Ashok, Yevgen Borodin, Yury Puzis, I.V. Ramakrishnan · 2016 · Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This paper presents FeelX, a low-cost haptic glove system designed to enable blind users to tactilely explore graphical user interfaces (GUIs) by moving their hands on any flat surface such as a desk or table. The fundamental problem addressed is that screen readers reduce…

  blindness · haptic technology · tactile accessibility · screen reader · GUI accessibility

• Should I Trust It When I Cannot See It? Credibility Assessment for Blind Web Users

  Ali Abdolrahmani, Ravi Kuber · 2016 · Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This paper examines how blind screen reader users assess the credibility of web content compared to sighted users, revealing fundamental differences in credibility assessment strategies between the two groups. Web credibility — the believability of information and its source —…

  blindness · screen reader · web accessibility · web design · usability

• Tag Thunder: Towards Non-Visual Web Page Skimming

  Elena Manishina, Jean-Marc Lecarpentier, Fabrice Maurel, Stéphane Ferrari, Maxence Busson · 2016 · Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This demonstration paper presents Tag Thunder, an audio equivalent of visual tag clouds designed to bring skimming capabilities to blind web users. When sighted people access a web page, they first skim the content — rapidly scanning layout, typography, and visual emphasis to…

  blindness · screen reader · web accessibility · speech · natural language processing

• Designing Wearable Mobile Device Controllers for Blind People: A Co-Design Approach

  Catherine Feng · 2016 · Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This poster paper explores the design space of wearable controllers that enable blind people to operate their smartphones more efficiently while on the go, without needing to directly interact with the phone's touchscreen. Blind people rely heavily on mobile phones for…

  blindness · wearable technology · mobile accessibility · co-design · interaction design

• An Accessible Blocks Language: Work in Progress

  Varsha Koushik, Clayton Lewis · 2016 · Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This demonstration paper presents Pseudospatial Blocks (PB), a nonvisual blocks programming language designed to make block-based coding environments accessible to blind learners. Block languages like Scratch, Snap, MIT App Inventor, and Microsoft Block Editor are among the most…

  blindness · programming education · screen reader · education · STEM accessibility

• A Platform Agnostic Remote Desktop System for Screen Reading

  Syed Masum Billah, Vikas Ashok, Donald E. Porter, IV Ramakrishnan · 2016 · ASSETS '16: Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  Sinter addresses a fundamental barrier to remote desktop accessibility: traditional remote desktop technology scrapes pixels from the remote screen and redraws them as bitmaps on the client, losing all semantic information that screen readers require—text content, UI element…

  screen reader · remote desktop · cross-platform accessibility · UI virtualization · blind accessibility

• Demonstration: Screen Reader Support for a Complex Interactive Science Simulation

  Taliesin L. Smith, Clayton Lewis, Emily B. Moore · 2016 · ASSETS '16: Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This demonstration presents an accessible version of "Balloons and Static Electricity," a PhET interactive science simulation that teaches electrostatic charge concepts. PhET simulations are run over 75 million times annually, yet most are inaccessible to blind learners due to…

  screen reader · STEM education · interactive simulation · PhET · blind accessibility

• VizLens: A Robust and Interactive Screen Reader for Interfaces in the Real World

  Anhong Guo, Xiang "Anthony" Chen, Haoran Qi, Samuel White, Suman Ghosh, Chieko Asakawa, Jeffrey P. Bigham · 2016 · Proceedings of the 29th Annual Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST 2016)

  This paper introduces VizLens, a system that functions as a screen reader for physical interfaces in the real world, enabling blind people to independently use inaccessible appliances like microwaves, thermostats, kiosks, and checkout terminals. VizLens deeply integrates…

  visual accessibility · computer vision · crowdsourcing · blind users · physical interfaces

• Haptic Gloves for Audio-Tactile Web Accessibility

  Andrii Soviak · 2015 · Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This doctoral consortium paper proposes FeelX, a haptic glove system that would enable blind users to explore web page layouts through touch on any flat surface such as a desk or table. The core problem is that screen readers linearise web pages into a one-dimensional sequence…

  blindness · haptic technology · tactile interface · screen reader · web accessibility

• Typing Performance of Blind Users: An Analysis of Touch Behaviors, Learning Effect, and In-Situ Usage

  Hugo Nicolau, Kyle Montague, Tiago Guerreiro, André Rodrigues, Vicki L. Hanson · 2015 · ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This longitudinal study provides the most detailed analysis to date of how novice blind users learn to type on touchscreen keyboards using the Explore by Touch paradigm (where users slide fingers across the screen to hear key names, then lift to select). Five legally blind…

  visual impairment · touchscreen · text entry · mobile accessibility · screen reader

• Haptic Gloves Prototype for Audio-Tactile Web Browsing

  Andrii Soviak · 2015 · ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This paper presents preliminary work on FeelX, a haptic gloves system designed to enable blind users to explore web page layouts through touch. The research addresses a fundamental limitation of screen readers: they present web content serially, creating a one-dimensional mental…

  blindness · haptic interface · web accessibility · screen reader · tactile display

• ChartMaster: A Tool for Interacting with Stock Market Charts using a Screen Reader

  Hong Zou, Jutta Treviranus · 2015 · ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This paper presents ChartMaster, a tool enabling screen reader users to query interactive stock market charts, developed through an inclusive co-design process with visually impaired participants. The authors frame the problem in economic terms: 1.3 billion people with…

  blindness · screen reader · data visualization · financial literacy · inclusive design

• Listen to Everything You Want to Read with Capti Narrator

  Yevgen Borodin, Yuri Puzis, Andrii Soviak, James Bouker, Bo Feng, Richard Sicoli, Andrii Melnyk, Valentyn Melnyk, Vikas Ashok, Glenn Dausch, I.V. Ramakrishnan · 2014 · Proceedings of the 11th Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper presents Capti Narrator, a cross-platform text-to-speech application developed by Charmtech Labs that enables hands-free consumption of digital content. Unlike traditional screen readers that are tightly coupled to operating system interfaces, Capti is designed as a…

  text-to-speech · print disability · screen reader · mobile accessibility · universal access

• How Cloud Computing Can Support On-Demand Assistive Services

  Davide Mulfari, Antonio Celesti, Antonio Puliafito, Massimo Villari · 2013 · Proceedings of the 10th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from the University of Messina investigates how cloud computing and virtualisation can provide on-demand assistive technology services for people with disabilities who need to use shared or public computers. The core problem is that when a disabled person uses a…

  cloud computing · assistive technology · virtual desktop · screen reader · screen magnifier

• PlatMult: A Multisensory Platform with Web Accessibility Features for Low Vision Users

  Marcio Oyamada, Jorge Bidarra, Clodis Boscarioli · 2013 · Proceedings of the 15th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This poster paper presents PlatMult, an integrated hardware and software platform that combines three sensory modalities — visual, auditory, and tactile — to improve web accessibility for low vision users. The authors note that screen magnifiers, the most common assistive…

  low vision · screen magnifier · screen reader · haptic feedback · multisensory

• Bypassing Lists: Accelerating Screen-Reader Fact-Finding with Guided Tours

  Tao Yang, Prathik Gadde, Robert Morse, Davide Bolchini · 2013 · Proceedings of the 15th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper investigates whether guided tours — a navigation pattern that linearly links content pages with next/previous controls — can help screen-reader users perform fact-finding tasks more efficiently than traditional index-based navigation, particularly when the index lacks…

  screen reader · web navigation · blindness · visual impairment · information scent

• PassChords: Secure Multi-Touch Authentication for Blind People

  Shiri Azenkot, Kyle Rector, Richard Ladner, Jacob Wobbrock · 2012 · Proceedings of the 14th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2012)

  This paper presents PassChords, a non-visual multi-touch authentication method for blind mobile device users that is resistant to both aural and visual eavesdropping. The research begins with interviews of 13 blind smartphone users (average age 51, range 26-64) that revealed…

  accessible authentication · blind users · mobile security · touch screen · VoiceOver

• Capture: A Desktop Display-Centric Text Recorder

  Oren Laadan, Andrew Shu, Jason Nieh · 2012 · Proceedings of the 14th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2012)

  This paper presents Capture, a display-centric text recording system that continuously tracks all onscreen text and metadata across both foreground and background windows with low overhead and without requiring modifications to applications, window systems, or operating system…

  screen reader · accessibility API · accessibility tree · text recording · desktop accessibility

• Tapulator: A Non-Visual Calculator Using Natural Prefix-Free Codes

  Vaspol Ruamviboonsuk, Shiri Azenkot, Richard E. Ladner · 2012 · Proceedings of the 14th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2012)

  This demonstration paper presents the Tapulator, a non-visual calculator for smartphones that replaces traditional on-screen buttons with a simple gesture-based numeric entry system using multi-finger taps and swipes. The core innovation is a natural prefix-free code for…

  blindness · low vision · touchscreen accessibility · screen reader · gesture input

• Improving Public Transit Accessibility for Blind Riders: A Train Station Navigation Assistant

  Markus Guentert · 2011 · The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This short paper presents a prototype iPhone application designed to help blind people navigate inside train stations — an environment where GPS is unavailable and orientation is particularly challenging. The author's motivation comes from interviews with blind users and a…

  blindness · indoor navigation · public transit · iPhone · wayfinding

• Leveraging Proprioception to Make Mobile Phones More Accessible to Users with Visual Impairments

  Frank Chun Yat Li, David Dearman, Khai N. Truong · 2010 · Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper extends Virtual Shelves — an interaction technique that leverages proprioception (the sense of body position and movement) to provide eyes-free access to mobile phone shortcuts — for users with visual impairments. The core concept is elegant: users hold their phone in…

  visual impairment · proprioception · mobile accessibility · interaction techniques · eyes-free interaction

• Sasayaki: An Augmented Voice-Based Web Browsing Experience

  Shaojian Zhu, Daisuke Sato, Hironobu Takagi, Chieko Asakawa · 2010 · Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper introduces Sasayaki (meaning "whisper" in Japanese), an intelligent voice-based agent designed to augment voice browser navigation for users with visual impairments. The authors, from IBM Research Tokyo and UMBC, identify two key problems with voice-based web…

  web accessibility · screen reader · voice browser · visual impairment · contextual support