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• Magic Touch: Interacting with 3D Printed Graphics

  Lei Shi, Ross McLachlan, Yuhang Zhao, Shiri Azenkot · 2016 · ASSETS '16: Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  Magic Touch is a computer vision-based system that augments 3D printed tactile graphics with audio information, addressing a key limitation of physical models for blind users: while 3D printing can effectively convey shapes and textures, text annotations and labels are difficult…

  tactile graphics · 3D printing · computer vision · blind accessibility · audio labeling

• A Computer Vision-Based System for Stride Length Estimation using a Mobile Phone Camera

  Wei Zhu, Boyd Anderson, Shenggao Zhu, Ye Wang · 2016 · ASSETS '16: Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper presents an affordable computer vision system for measuring stride length in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients using only a smartphone camera and a printed PVC mat. Gait analysis is a critical non-invasive method for PD diagnosis and assessment, but clinical systems…

  Parkinson's disease · gait analysis · computer vision · mobile health · movement disorders

• Isolated Sign Language Recognition with Grassmann Covariance Matrices

  Hanjie Wang, Xiujuan Chai, Xiaopeng Hong, Guoying Zhao, Xilin Chen · 2016 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper proposes a novel method for isolated sign language recognition using Grassmann Covariance Matrices (GCM) to fuse multimodal features captured by Microsoft Kinect. With 360 million people worldwide affected by hearing loss—21 million in China alone—automatic sign…

  sign language recognition · Chinese sign language · computer vision · machine learning · deaf and hard of hearing

• 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

• Zebra Crossing Spotter: Automatic Population of Spatial Databases for Increased Safety of Blind Travelers

  Dragan Ahmetovic, Roberto Manduchi, James M. Coughlan, Sergio Mascetti · 2015 · ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This paper presents a computer vision system that automatically detects zebra crosswalks by mining satellite imagery and Google Street View, with the goal of augmenting geographic information systems (GIS) to help blind travelers plan safer routes. Knowing crosswalk locations is…

  visual impairment · navigation · computer vision · pedestrian crossings · wayfinding

• ApplianceReader: A Wearable, Crowdsourced, Vision-based System to Make Appliances Accessible

  Anhong Guo, Xiang "Anthony" Chen, Jeffrey P. Bigham · 2015 · CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Extended Abstracts

  This work-in-progress paper presents ApplianceReader, a wearable system that combines a point-of-view camera (Google Glass) with crowdsourcing and computer vision to make everyday appliance control panels accessible to people with visual impairments. The system addresses a…

  appliance accessibility · crowdsourcing · computer vision · wearable technology · blindness

• Zensors: Adaptive, Rapidly Deployable, Human-Intelligent Sensor Feeds

  Gierad Laput, Walter S. Lasecki, Jason Wiese, Robert Xiao, Jeffrey P. Bigham, Chris Harrison · 2015 · Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2015)

  Zensors presents a novel sensing platform that combines real-time human intelligence from online crowd workers with machine learning to create adaptive, rapidly deployable intelligent sensors. The system addresses a fundamental gap in smart environment technology: traditional…

  crowdsourcing · human computation · computer vision · smart environments · machine learning

• Marker-Assisted Recognition of Dynamic Content in Public Spaces

  Andréa Britto Mattos, Ricardo Herrmann, Carlos Cardonha, Diego Gallo, Priscilla Avegliano, Sergio Borger · 2014 · Proceedings of the 11th Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper from IBM Research Brazil presents an image processing system that helps visually impaired and situationally disabled people (such as tourists in foreign countries) recognize dynamic content displayed on public information boards. The system addresses a common…

  computer vision · visual impairment · object recognition · fiducial markers · public spaces

• Marker-based image recognition of dynamic content for the visually impaired

  Andréa Britto Mattos, Carlos Cardonha, Diego Gallo, Priscilla Avegliano, Ricardo Herrmann, Sergio Borger · 2014 · Proceedings of the 11th Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper from IBM Research Brazil introduces a marker-based image recognition technique to help visually impaired people access information displayed on public panels and boards with fixed layouts but dynamic content — such as vending machines, split-flap airport displays,…

  computer vision · visual impairment · mobile accessibility · object recognition · situational disability

• Can a Blind Person Understand Your World?

  Chieko Asakawa · 2014 · Proceedings of the 11th Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This keynote paper by Chieko Asakawa of IBM Research presents a vision for the next frontier of accessibility for blind people: moving from digital information access to real-world understanding through cognitive computing. Asakawa charts the exponential growth of accessible…

  blindness · cognitive assistance · image recognition · computer vision · machine learning

• 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

• Headlock: A Wearable Navigation Aid that Helps Blind Cane Users Traverse Large Open Spaces

  Alexander Fiannaca, Ilias Apostolopoulous, Eelke Folmer · 2014 · ASSETS '14: Proceedings of the 16th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This paper presents HEADLOCK, a navigation aid for optical head-mounted displays (OHMDs) like Google Glass that helps blind cane users traverse large open spaces—environments that are particularly challenging because they lack the tactile features (walls, corridors, floor…

  visual impairment · blindness · navigation · wayfinding · wearable technology

• Headlock: A Wearable Navigation Aid that Helps Blind Cane Users Traverse Large Open Spaces

  Alexander Fiannaca, Ilias Apostolopoulous, Eelke Folmer · 2014 · Proceedings of the 16th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This demo paper presents HEADLOCK, a navigation aid built for an optical head-mounted display (HMD) that helps blind cane users traverse large open spaces — environments like building foyers, plazas, and parking lots that lack the tactile boundaries (walls, curbs, fences) that…

  blind navigation · wearable technology · head-mounted display · computer vision · sonification

• Motion History to Improve Communication and Switch Access for People with Severe and Multiple Disabilities

  Guang Yang, Mamoru Iwabuchi, Rumi Hirabayashi, Kenryu Nakamura, Kimihiko Taniguchi, Syoudai Sano, Takamitsu Aoki · 2014 · Proceedings of the 16th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This demo paper presents the application of Motion History — a computer vision technique that visualises a user's movement history as a heat map — to support communication and switch access for people with severe and multiple disabilities. The system is part of OAK (Observation…

  severe disabilities · multiple disabilities · switch access · computer vision · Kinect

• Expression: A Google Glass Based Assistive Solution for Social Signal Processing

  ASM Iftekhar Anam, Shahinur Alam, Mohammed Yeasin · 2014 · Proceedings of the 16th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This demo paper presents Expression, a Google Glass-based assistive system that enables blind and visually impaired users to perceive non-verbal social signals during face-to-face conversations. Limited access to non-verbal cues — facial expressions, gestures, body language — is…

  blindness · wearable technology · facial expression recognition · social interaction · Google Glass

• A Google Glass App to Help the Blind in Small Talk

  Mohammad Iftekhar Tanveer, Mohammed Ehsan Hoque · 2014 · Proceedings of the 16th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This demo paper presents a Google Glass prototype that helps blind individuals initiate small talk by automatically analysing a scene to detect the number of people present, their approximate ages, and gender distribution, then synthesising this information as speech feedback…

  blindness · Google Glass · wearable technology · computer vision · face detection

• Real Time Object Scanning Using a Mobile Phone and Cloud-based Visual Search Engine

  Yu Zhong, Pierre J. Garrigues, Jeffrey P. Bigham · 2013 · Proceedings of the 15th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2013)

  This paper presents Scan Search, an iPhone application that enables blind users to identify everyday objects in real time by continuously scanning with their phone camera rather than taking individual photos. The core challenge addressed is that blind people struggle with the…

  visual accessibility · object recognition · blind users · mobile accessibility · computer vision

• Do You See What I See? Designing a Sensory Substitution Device to Access Non-Verbal Modes of Communication

  M. Iftekhar Tanveer, A. S. M. Iftekhar Anam, Mohammed Yeasin, Majid Khan · 2013 · Proceedings of the 15th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '13)

  This paper presents iFEPS (improved Facial Expression Perception through Sound), a visual-to-auditory sensory substitution device that enables blind users to perceive their conversation partner's facial expressions through audio feedback. Research suggests that 80% of…

  sensory substitution · blind users · facial expression · non-verbal communication · computer vision

• Non-Visual-Cueing-Based Sensing and Understanding of Nearby Entities in Aided Navigation

  Juan Diego Gomez, Guido Bologna, Thierry Pun · 2012 · Proceedings of the 14th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2012)

  This demonstration paper presents a context-aware navigation aid system for blind individuals that combines three levels of assistance to enhance understanding of the surrounding environment. The system addresses a fundamental challenge: blind people navigating unfamiliar…

  visual impairment · blind navigation · context-aware computing · computer vision · spatial audio

• FEPS: A Sensory Substitution System for the Blind to Perceive Facial Expressions

  Md. Iftekhar Tanveer, A.S.M. Iftekhar Anam, A.K.M Mahbubur Rahman, Sreya Ghosh, Mohammed Yeasin · 2012 · Proceedings of the 14th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2012)

  This demonstration paper presents FEPS (Facial Expression Perception through Sound), a visual-to-auditory sensory substitution system that enables blind individuals to perceive their conversation partner's facial expressions through sound. The inability to perceive facial…

  visual impairment · blind users · sensory substitution · sonification · facial expression recognition

• Helping Visually Impaired Users Properly Aim a Camera

  Marynel Vázquez, Aaron Steinfeld · 2012 · Proceedings of the 14th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2012)

  This paper evaluates three interaction modes for helping visually impaired users aim a camera to achieve good photo composition: speech-based feedback (spoken directional words like "up", "down", "left", "right" with pitch indicating proximity), tone-based feedback (a looping…

  visual impairment · blind users · low vision · photography · camera aiming

• Smartphone Application for Indoor Scene Localization

  Nabeel Younus Khan, Brendan McCane · 2012 · Proceedings of the 14th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2012)

  This demonstration paper presents a smartphone-based assistive technology that uses computer vision to determine a blind user's location inside a building where GPS is ineffective. The system operates on a client-server model running on an Android HTC Wildfire S phone. It…

  visual impairment · blind navigation · indoor localization · computer vision · smartphone

• 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

• Supporting Blind Photography

  Chandrika Jayant, Hanjie Ji, Samuel White, Jeffrey P. Bigham · 2011 · ASSETS '11: The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper explores how blind and low-vision people use cameras and presents two applications designed to make photography more accessible. The research begins with a large-scale online survey of 118 blind and low-vision people that establishes the empirical foundation for the…

  blind users · low vision · photography · computer vision · mobile accessibility