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• A mean for communication between deaf and hearing pairs in inclusive educational settings: the Sessai app

  Soraia Silva Prietch, Emanuel José dos Santos, Lucia Vilela Leite Filgueiras · 2015 · Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This extended abstract presents Sessai, an Android application designed to facilitate communication between Deaf or Hard of Hearing (D/HH) students and their hearing peers and teachers in inclusive classroom settings in Brazil. The app uses a WhatsApp-inspired chat interface…

  deaf and hard of hearing · sign language · inclusive education · mobile application · assistive technology

• Demographic and Experiential Factors Influencing Acceptance of Sign Language Animation by Deaf Users

  Hernisa Kacorri, Matt Huenerfauth, Sarah Ebling, Kasmira Patel, Mackenzie Willard · 2015 · ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This paper addresses a critical methodological gap in sign language animation research: the lack of standardized reporting on participant characteristics that may influence evaluation results. Sign language animation technology—which automatically synthesizes signing from…

  deaf · sign language · animation · avatar · ASL

• Comparing Methods of Displaying Language Feedback for Student Videos of American Sign Language

  Matt Huenerfauth, Elaine Gale, Brian Penly, Mackenzie Willard, Dhananjai Hariharan · 2015 · ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This research investigates how to effectively provide feedback to students learning American Sign Language (ASL), specifically comparing different methods of presenting information about errors and correct usage in their signing videos. The work is motivated by an urgent…

  American Sign Language · ASL · deaf education · language learning · video feedback

• Towards Fully Automated Motion Capture of Signs -- Development and Evaluation of a Key Word Signing Avatar

  Simon Alexanderson, Jonas Beskow · 2015 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This research develops a cost-effective method for capturing sign language motion to animate a signing avatar for the Tivoli project—a game-based learning environment teaching Key Word Signing (KWS) to children with communication disabilities including developmental disorders,…

  sign language · motion capture · signing avatar · augmentative and alternative communication · Key Word Signing

• Identifying Sign Language Videos in Video Sharing Sites

  Frank M. Shipman, Ricardo Gutierrez-Osuna, Caio D. D. Monteiro · 2014 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper addresses the challenge of finding sign language videos within general video sharing platforms like YouTube. While these platforms contain growing libraries of sign language content created by deaf community members, locating this content is difficult because…

  sign language · ASL · video classification · machine learning · computer vision

• Manual Evaluation of Synthesised Sign Language Avatars

  Robert Smith, Brian Nolan · 2013 · Proceedings of the 15th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This poster paper evaluates whether adding emotional facial expressions to sign language avatars improves their comprehension and naturalness for Irish Sign Language (ISL) users. Sign languages convey emotion and prosody primarily through non-manual features (NMFs) — facial…

  sign language · sign language avatar · Irish Sign Language · deaf · facial expressions

• Comparing Native Signers' Perception of American Sign Language Animations and Videos via Eye Tracking

  Hernisa Kacorri, Allen Harper, Matt Huenerfauth · 2013 · Proceedings of the 15th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper investigates whether eye tracking can serve as an alternative or complementary evaluation method for assessing the quality of synthesized American Sign Language (ASL) animations. Computer-generated ASL animations offer accessibility benefits for deaf individuals with…

  sign language · American Sign Language · animation · eye tracking · deaf accessibility

• Mixed Local and Remote Participation in Teleconferences from a Deaf and Hard of Hearing Perspective

  Christian Vogler, Paula Tucker, Norman Williams · 2013 · Proceedings of the 15th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This experience report describes the accessibility challenges faced by deaf and hard of hearing members of the FCC's Emergency Access Advisory Committee (EAAC) during 2.5 years of collaboration with 25-30 hearing committee members in mixed local and remote meeting settings. The…

  deaf accessibility · hard of hearing · teleconferencing · videoconferencing · sign language

• A Web-Based Intelligibility Evaluation of Sign Language Video Transmitted at Low Frame Rates and Bitrates

  Jessica J. Tran, Rafael Rodriguez, Eve A. Riskin, Jacob O. Wobbrock · 2013 · Proceedings of the 15th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper evaluates the perceived lower limits of intelligible sign language video for mobile communication, testing how much video quality can be sacrificed while maintaining comprehensibility for ASL users. The ITU-T recommends sign language video be transmitted at 25 fps at…

  sign language · American Sign Language · deaf accessibility · video compression · frame rate

• Mobile Sign Language Translation System for Deaf Community

  Mehrez Boulares, Mohamed Jemni · 2012 · Proceedings of the International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from the University of Tunis presents a mobile web service for translating written text into sign language using a 3D virtual signing agent on Android devices. The system addresses two interrelated accessibility challenges: deaf and hard of hearing people with low…

  sign language · deaf accessibility · mobile accessibility · machine translation · signing avatar

• Web-Content's Syndication in Sign Language

  Oussama El Ghoul, Nour Ben Yahia, Mohamed Jemni · 2012 · Proceedings of the International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper addresses the inaccessibility of web content syndication (RSS feeds) for deaf users, particularly those in developing countries where over 80% of deaf people are illiterate. While RSS and Atom feeds are efficient mechanisms for pushing updated content to users, all…

  sign language · deaf accessibility · avatar technology · RSS · content syndication

• Accessible 3D Signing Avatars: The Tunisian Experience

  Kabil Jaballah · 2012 · Proceedings of the International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper reports on the WebSign project from the University of Tunis, a system that translates written text into sign language performed by 3D avatars, and addresses the broader challenge of making signing avatars accessible, indexable, and discoverable on the web. The author…

  sign language · deaf accessibility · avatar technology · virtual signing · education accessibility

• Design and Evaluation of Classifier for Identifying Sign Language Videos in Video Sharing Sites

  Caio D.D. Monteiro, Ricardo Gutierrez-Osuna, Frank M. Shipman · 2012 · Proceedings of the 14th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2012)

  This paper presents the design and evaluation of a video classifier that automatically distinguishes sign language (SL) videos from non-sign-language videos on video sharing sites like YouTube. Currently, deaf and hard-of-hearing users must rely on tags, titles, or metadata to…

  sign language · deaf community · video classification · computer vision · machine learning

• Data-Driven Synthesis of Spatially Inflected Verbs for American Sign Language Animation

  Pengfei Lu, Matt Huenerfauth · 2011 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper addresses a critical accessibility challenge: most deaf individuals in the US have limited English literacy (the majority of deaf high school graduates read at a fourth-grade level), making written web content inaccessible. While sign language animation offers a…

  sign language · ASL · animation · deaf accessibility · natural language processing

• Evaluating Quality and Comprehension of Real-Time Sign Language Video on Mobile Phones

  Jessica J. Tran, Joy Kim, Jaehong Chon, Eve A. Riskin, Richard E. Ladner, Jacob O. Wobbrock · 2011 · Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This paper investigates the relationship between objective video quality metrics (PSNR — peak signal-to-noise ratio), subjective quality preferences, and actual comprehension of American Sign Language (ASL) video transmitted at very low bitrates on mobile phones. At the time of…

  deaf · American Sign Language · video compression · mobile accessibility · video quality

• The Vlogging Phenomena: A Deaf Perspective

  Ellen S. Hibbard, Deb I. Fels · 2011 · The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper examines how Deaf people use video blogging (vlogging) technology to communicate in American Sign Language (ASL) on mainstream and specialized platforms. The researchers compared vlogging practices on YouTube, a mainstream video-sharing site, and Deafvideo.TV (DVTV),…

  deaf accessibility · sign language · video accessibility · social media · Deaf Culture

• Brazilian Sign Language Multimedia Hangman Game: A Prototype of an Educational and Inclusive Application

  Renata Cristina Barros Madeo · 2011 · The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This doctoral consortium paper presents a prototype educational game — a hangman game that uses Brazilian Sign Language (BSL/Libras) as its input method. Instead of typing letters on a keyboard, players perform fingerspelling signs from the Libras manual alphabet in front of a…

  sign language · sign language recognition · deaf accessibility · educational technology · game accessibility

• We Need to Communicate! Helping Hearing Parents of Deaf Children Learn American Sign Language

  Kimberly A. Weaver, Thad Starner · 2011 · The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper presents interview research with hearing parents of deaf children to understand their motivations, challenges, and needs when learning American Sign Language, informing the design of SMARTSign, a mobile ASL learning application. In the United States, 90-95% of deaf…

  deaf accessibility · sign language · educational technology · mobile accessibility · Deaf Culture

• Evaluating Importance of Facial Expression in American Sign Language and Pidgin Signed English Animations

  Matt Huenerfauth, Pengfei Lu, Andrew Rosenberg · 2011 · Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This paper presents the first empirical evaluation of the impact of facial expressions on the understandability and perceived quality of American Sign Language (ASL) and Pidgin Signed English (PSE) computer animations. ASL animations have significant accessibility benefits since…

  sign language · sign language animation · deaf accessibility · facial expression · American Sign Language

• Accurate and Accessible Motion-Capture Glove Calibration for Sign Language Data Collection

  Matt Huenerfauth, Pengfei Lu · 2010 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper addresses a critical bottleneck in sign language technology research: the calibration of motion-capture gloves used to record hand movements for ASL animation and recognition systems. Motion-capture data enables the development of sign language animations that can…

  sign language · American Sign Language · deaf accessibility · motion capture · animation

• An Evaluation of Video Intelligibility for Novice American Sign Language Learners on a Mobile Device

  Kimberly A. Weaver, Thad Starner, Harley Hamilton · 2010 · Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper investigates what video resolution is necessary for novice signers to learn American Sign Language (ASL) from video on a mobile device. The motivation is deeply practical: approximately 77% of deaf children are born to hearing parents who must learn sign language to…

  American Sign Language · deaf education · mobile learning · video intelligibility · computer-assisted language learning

• A Web-Based User Survey for Evaluating Power Saving Strategies for Deaf Users of MobileASL

  Jessica J. Tran, Tressa W. Johnson, Joy Kim, Rafael Rodriguez, Sheri Yin, Eve A. Riskin, Richard E. Ladner, Jacob O. Wobbrock · 2010 · Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper presents research on power-saving video compression algorithms for MobileASL, a project enabling real-time, two-way video communication on mobile phones so Deaf people can communicate in American Sign Language. Running video calls drains phone batteries rapidly — only…

  deaf and hard of hearing · sign language · American Sign Language · mobile technology · video compression

• Web-based Chinese sign language broadcasting system

  Dengfeng Yao, Yunfeng Qiu, Harry Huang · 2009 · Proceedings of the 2009 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibililty (W4A)

  This paper presents a web-based Chinese Sign Language (CSL) Broadcasting System that automatically translates text on web pages into animated 3D sign language gestures displayed through a browser plugin. The system addresses an often-overlooked accessibility barrier: while web…

  sign language · deaf accessibility · sign language synthesis · 3D animation · Chinese Sign Language

• Accessibility Perspectives on Enabling South African Sign Language in the South African National Accessibility Portal

  Louis Coetzee, Guillaume Olivrin, Ilse Viviers · 2009 · Proceedings of the 2009 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper investigates the feasibility and effectiveness of embedding animated South African Sign Language (SASL) content into the South African National Accessibility Portal (NAP), a government-backed information sharing platform for the disability sector. The authors from the…

  sign language · deaf accessibility · web accessibility · localization · South Africa

• Accessible Motion-Capture Glove Calibration Protocol for Recording Sign Language Data from Deaf Subjects

  Pengfei Lu, Matt Huenerfauth · 2009 · Proceedings of the 11th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '09)

  This paper addresses a critical bottleneck in sign language technology research: the calibration of motion-capture gloves used to record handshape data from deaf signers. Motion-capture gloves like the CyberGlove contain sensors that measure finger joint angles, but they require…

  sign language · motion capture · American Sign Language · deaf users · accessibility technology