Reviews

Search results

• A Portable Device for the Translation of Braille to Text

  Iain Murray, Andrew Pasquale · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents the development of a portable, handheld device that optically scans embossed Braille and translates it into printed text in real time. The device addresses a significant communication barrier: while many blind and vision-impaired people read and write using…

  braille · optical braille recognition · assistive technology · visual impairment · communication

• Lecture Adaptation for Students with Visual Disabilities Using High-Resolution Photography

  Gregory Hughes, Peter Robinson · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents a system designed to make visual content in lectures accessible to students with visual disabilities by using high-resolution digital still cameras and computer vision techniques. Students with visual impairments typically sit 4 to 20 metres from whiteboards,…

  visual impairment · education · assistive technology · computer vision · lecture accessibility

• A Voice-Activated Syntax-Directed Editor for Manually Disabled Programmers

  Thomas J. Hubbell, David D. Langan, Thomas F. Hain · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents VASDE (Voice-Activated Syntax-Directed Editor), a programming environment designed to allow people with manual disabilities to write Java code using voice commands instead of a keyboard and mouse. The authors argue that traditional programming IDEs, which are…

  speech recognition · programming · motor impairment · voice input · IDE

• Where's My Stuff? Design and Evaluation of a Mobile System for Locating Lost Items for the Visually Impaired

  Julie A. Kientz, Shwetak N. Patel, Arwa Z. Tyebkhan, Brian Gane, Jennifer Wiley, Gregory D. Abowd · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents FETCH (Finding Everything using Technology that is Convenient and Handy), a mobile system that helps visually impaired people locate lost items around their home using Bluetooth-enabled tags and existing devices like cell phones or laptops. The research was…

  visual impairment · assistive technology · object location · Bluetooth · mobile technology

• The Impact of User Research on Product Design Case Study: Accessibility Ecosystem for Windows Vista

  Annuska Perkins, Tira Cohene · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper describes how user research conducted by Microsoft's Windows Accessible Technology Group shaped the accessibility features in Windows Vista. The research encompassed a wide range of users across major disability types (vision, dexterity, hearing, speech, cognitive),…

  accessibility · user research · operating system · universal design · usability

• Linux Screen Reader: Extensible Assistive Technology

  Peter Parente, Brett Clippingdale · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents the Linux Screen Reader (LSR), an open source project from IBM that aimed to create a reusable, extensible development platform for building alternative and supplemental user interfaces on the GNOME desktop environment. Unlike conventional screen readers that…

  screen reader · Linux · open source · assistive technology · accessibility API

• Networked Reminiscence Therapy for Individuals with Dementia by Using Photo and Video Sharing

  Noriaki Kuwahara, Shinji Abe, Kiyoshi Yasuda, Kazuhiro Kuwabara · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents a networked reminiscence therapy system that enables remote delivery of therapy to people with dementia using IP videophones combined with web-based photo and video sharing. Reminiscence therapy — where a therapist uses photos, objects, and conversation about…

  dementia · reminiscence therapy · telehealth · video conferencing · aging

• Learning and Perceiving Colors Haptically

  Kanav Kahol, Jamieson French, Laura Bratton, Sethuraman Panchanathan · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents a novel system for enabling blind individuals to learn, perceive, and compare colours through haptic (touch-based) feedback. Colour is a purely visual feature that cannot be perceived through auditory or olfactory senses, yet it plays a significant role in…

  visual impairment · haptic interface · colour perception · sensory substitution · assistive technology

• Designing Learning Systems to Provide Accessible Services

  Pythagoras Karampiperis, Demetrios Sampson · 2005 · Proceedings of the 2005 International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper addresses the architectural design of web-based learning systems that can deliver accessible educational content to learners with diverse access needs. The authors identify a fundamental problem with how accessible e-learning was being approached in 2005: most systems…

  e-learning accessibility · learning management systems · accessible design · metadata · learning objects

• Interdependent Components of Web Accessibility

  Wendy A. Chisholm, Shawn Lawton Henry · 2005 · Proceedings of the 2005 International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  Written by two key members of the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), this paper provides the definitive explanation of how web accessibility depends on multiple interdependent components working together — a systems view that was often overlooked in the field's heavy focus…

  web accessibility · WAI · WCAG · ATAG · UAAG

• Platform-Independent Accessibility API: Accessible Document Object Model

  Andres Gonzalez, Loretta Guarino Reid · 2005 · Proceedings of the 2005 International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper, authored by Adobe engineers, addresses a fundamental problem in cross-platform accessibility: application developers who want to support assistive technologies must implement separate integrations for each operating system's accessibility API — MSAA on Windows, the…

  accessibility API · DOM · cross-platform accessibility · assistive technology · MSAA

• AcceSS: accessibility through simplification & summarization

  Bambang Parmanto, Reza Ferrydiansyah, Andi Saptono, Lijing Song, I Wayan Sugiantara, Stephanie Hackett · 2005 · Proceedings of the 2005 International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from the University of Pittsburgh presents AcceSS, a transcoding system that makes web pages more accessible to visually impaired users through two complementary strategies: simplification and summarization. The authors identify a fundamental asymmetry in web…

  screen readers · visual impairment · web transcoding · content simplification · web navigation

• Is accessible design a myth?

  Eric A. Meyer · 2005 · Proceedings of the 2005 International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  In this position paper, prominent CSS expert Eric Meyer (of Complex Spiral Consulting) examines the tensions between rich visual web design and accessibility, asking whether the two can truly coexist. Meyer traces the history of CSS image replacement techniques — Fahrner Image…

  screen readers · CSS · image replacement · skip links · web design

• Verification of Computer Display Pre-compensation for Visual Aberrations in an Artificial Eye

  Miguel Alonso Jr., Armando Barreto, Julie A. Jacko, Malek Adjouadi · 2005 · Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This paper presents experimental verification that computer display images can be pre-compensated to counteract the visual aberrations present in an optical system, specifically tested using a constructed artificial eye. The research builds on earlier theoretical work by Alonso…

  low vision · image processing · display technology · visual impairment · optical devices

• BlackBoardNV: A System for Enabling Non-Visual Access to the Blackboard Course Management System

  Vineet Enagandula, Niraj Juthani, I. V. Ramakrishnan, Devashish Rawal, Ritwick Vidyasagar · 2005 · Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This paper introduces BlackBoardNV, a system designed to make the Blackboard Learning Management System accessible to users with visual disabilities through non-visual (audio and keyboard) interaction. The core problem addressed is that screen readers cannot adequately convey…

  screen readers · web accessibility · education · non-visual access · content analysis

• iCARE Interaction Assistant: A Wearable Face Recognition System for Individuals with Visual Impairments

  Sreekar Krishna, Greg Little, John Black, Sethuraman Panchanathan · 2005 · Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This paper presents the iCARE Interaction Assistant, a wearable assistive device designed to facilitate social interactions for people who are blind or visually impaired by recognizing faces in their vicinity. The system was motivated by input from focus groups who highlighted…

  face recognition · wearable technology · blindness and low vision · social interaction · computer vision

• Toward Goldilocks' Pointing Device: Determining a "Just Right" Gain Setting for Users with Physical Impairments

  Heidi Horstmann Koester, Edmund LoPresti, Richard C. Simpson · 2005 · Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This paper describes the design and evaluation of the Input Device Agent (IDA), a software-based agent that automatically recommends a pointing device gain (control-display sensitivity) setting for individual users with physical impairments. Gain determines how far the mouse…

  motor accessibility · pointing devices · adaptive systems · physical disability · cursor control

• The Migratory Cursor: Accurate Speech-Based Cursor Movement by Moving Multiple Ghost Cursors Using Non-Verbal Vocalizations

  Yoshiyuki Mihara, Etsuya Shibayama, Shin Takahashi · 2005 · Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This paper presents the migratory cursor, a novel voice-controlled cursor movement interface that combines two complementary techniques to achieve both speed and accuracy. The fundamental challenge with speech-based cursor control is that existing approaches are either fast but…

  cursor control · voice interface · speech technology · motor accessibility · alternative input

• visiBabble Demo

  Harriet Fell, Joel MacAuslan, Jun Gong, Josh Ostrow · 2005 · Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This paper presents a demonstration of visiBabble, a computer-based system designed to encourage and reinforce pre-speech vocalizations in infants at risk of being nonspeaking due to neurological or oral/motor impairments. The system consists of a notebook computer, microphone,…

  early intervention · pre-speech vocalizations · speech technology · visual feedback · assistive technology

• Automating Tactile Graphics Translation

  Richard E. Ladner, Melody Y. Ivory, Rajesh Rao, Sheryl Burgstahler, Dan Comden, Sangyun Hahn, Matthew Renzelmann, Satria Krisnandi, Mahalakshmi Ramasamy, Beverly Slabosky, Andrew Martin, Amelia Lacenski, Stuart Olsen, Dmitri Groce · 2005 · Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This paper addresses the critical shortage of tactile graphics available to blind students in mathematics, science, and engineering (MSE) courses. Postsecondary science textbooks may have images on half their pages — sometimes up to 500 images per book — yet these graphical…

  tactile graphics · braille · STEM accessibility · image processing · machine learning

• Online Focus Groups Used as an Accessible Participatory Research Method

  Ted L. Wattenberg · 2005 · Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This paper proposes the use of online focus groups as a method for meaningfully including people with disabilities in participatory research, addressing persistent barriers to their involvement in technology studies. The author situates this work within a troubling context:…

  participatory research · accessibility · research methods · screen readers · disability inclusion

• A System for Creating Personalized Synthetic Voices

  Debra Yarrington, Chris Pennington, John Gray, H. Timothy Bunnell · 2005 · Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This paper presents the ModelTalker Voice Creation System, a tool that enables individuals to create personalized synthetic voices with unrestricted vocabulary for use in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices. The system addresses a significant problem in AAC:…

  speech synthesis · voice banking · AAC · amyotrophic lateral sclerosis · text-to-speech

• Requirements Gathering with Alzheimer's Patients and Caregivers

  Kirstie Hawkey, Kori M. Inkpen, Kenneth Rockwood, Michael McAllister, Jacob Slonim · 2005 · Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This paper presents a requirements gathering study for an information appliance designed to alleviate repetitive questioning behaviour in people with Alzheimer's disease (AD), a leading cause of caregiver stress. The interdisciplinary team from Dalhousie University's Computer…

  Alzheimer's disease · dementia · cognitive accessibility · assistive technology · user-centered design

• What Help Do Older People Need? Constructing a Functional Design Space of Electronic Assistive Technology Applications

  Dennis Maciuszek, Johan Aberg, Nahid Shahmehri · 2005 · Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This paper constructs a functional design space for electronic assistive technology (EAT) applications aimed at frail older people, providing both users and designers with a common framework for choosing and producing relevant EAT. The researchers conducted a multi-site field…

  aging · assistive technology · design space · ageing in place · activities of daily living

• Touchable Online Braille Generator

  Wooseob Jeong · 2005 · Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This short paper from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee presents a prototype online Braille generator that uses consumer force feedback mouse technology to make web text tactilely accessible to blind and visually impaired users. The system takes any plain text entered or…

  braille · force feedback · haptic technology · visual impairment · web accessibility