Reviews

Search results

• Using Dynamic Audio Feedback to Support Peripersonal Reaching in Visually Impaired People

  Graham Wilson, Stephen A. Brewster · 2015 · ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This demonstration paper explores how dynamic audio feedback can help blind and visually impaired people locate and reach for objects in their immediate (peripersonal) space. The research addresses an important developmental challenge: blind children engage less with objects in…

  visual impairment · audio feedback · sonification · spatial awareness · child development

• Towards Large Scale Evaluation of Novel Sonification Techniques for Non Visual Shape Exploration

  Andrea Gerino, Lorenzo Picinali, Cristian Bernareggi, Nicolò Alabastro, Sergio Mascetti · 2015 · ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This paper presents six sonification techniques for exploring shapes on touchscreen devices and evaluates them through Invisible Puzzle, an iPhone application enabling large-scale unsupervised testing. The research addresses a critical need: people who are blind need access to…

  sonification · blindness · visual impairment · touchscreen · image exploration

• TactileMaps.net: A Web Interface for Generating Customized 3D-Printable Tactile Maps

  Brandon T. Taylor, Anind K. Dey, Dan P. Siewiorek, Asim Smailagic · 2015 · ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This demonstration paper presents TactileMaps.net, a web-based tool that enables visually impaired users to independently generate customized 3D-printable tactile maps. Tactile maps are valuable tools for helping blind individuals understand their environment, but traditionally…

  visual impairment · tactile graphics · 3D printing · maps · wayfinding

• 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

• Exploring New Paradigms for Accessible 3D Printed Graphs

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

  This paper explores novel approaches to representing bar graphs for blind users using 3D printing technology, moving beyond traditional flat tactile graphics. Traditional tactile graphics (created with swell paper, embossers, or thermoform) use raised lines and textures on flat…

  visual impairment · tactile graphics · 3D printing · data visualization · STEM education

• Collaborative Creation of Digital Tactile Graphics

  Jens Bornschein, Denise Prescher, Gerhard Weber · 2015 · ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This paper presents the Tangram Workstation, a collaborative system enabling sighted transcribers and blind reviewers to work together in real-time when creating tactile graphics. The fundamental insight is that current tactile graphics production involves sighted transcribers…

  visual impairment · tactile graphics · collaboration · pin-matrix display · refreshable braille display

• 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

• Transcribing Across the Senses: Community Efforts to Create 3D Printable Accessible Tactile Pictures for Young Children with Visual Impairments

  Abigale Stangl, Chia-Lo Hsu, Tom Yeh · 2015 · ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This formative study investigates how different stakeholder communities approach designing 3D printable accessible tactile pictures (3DP-ATPs) for young children with visual impairments. While 3D printing offers potential to democratize tactile material production—traditionally…

  3D printing · tactile graphics · visual impairment · children · emergent literacy

• Usage of Subjective Scales in Accessibility Research

  Shari Trewin, Diogo Marques, Tiago Guerreiro · 2015 · ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This methodological paper investigates whether positive response bias affects subjective ratings in accessibility research—a critical concern given that Likert-type items are widely used to evaluate assistive technologies. The authors pursued two complementary approaches: a…

  research methodology · Likert scales · response bias · usability testing · accessibility research

• Evaluation of a Context-Aware Voice Interface for Ambient Assisted Living: Qualitative User Study vs. Quantitative System Evaluation

  Michel Vacher, Sybille Caffiau, François Portet, Brigitte Meillon, Camille Roux, Elena Eluj, Benjamin Lecouteux, Pedro Chahuara · 2015 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This study evaluates Sweet-Home, a voice-controlled smart home system designed to help older adults and people with visual impairments maintain independence at home. The research was conducted in a realistic 30-square-meter smart apartment (Domus) equipped with 150 sensors, 7…

  ambient assisted living · voice interface · smart home · aging in place · visual impairment

• Guiding Novice Web Workers in Making Image Descriptions Using Templates

  Valerie S. Morash, Yue-Ting Siu, Joshua A. Miele, Lucia Hasty, Steven Landau · 2015 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This study compares two approaches for using non-expert crowdworkers to create accessible descriptions of STEM images (charts, graphs, diagrams) for people who are blind or have print-reading disabilities. The researchers tested Free-Response Image Description (FRID), where…

  image description · alt text · crowdsourcing · human computation · STEM accessibility

• Gauging Receptiveness to Social Microvolunteering

  Erin Brady, Meredith Ringel Morris, Jeffrey P. Bigham · 2015 · CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

  This paper introduces the concept of social microvolunteering — a hybrid of friendsourcing and microvolunteering where volunteers install an application that posts microtasks to their social media feeds, enabling their friends to contribute to causes they care about. The…

  crowdsourcing · microvolunteering · friendsourcing · social media · visual impairment

• 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

• Exploring Interface Design for Independent Navigation by People with Visual Impairments

  Erin L. Brady, Daisuke Sato, Chengxiong Ruan, Hironobu Takagi, Chieko Asakawa · 2015 · ASSETS 2015: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This short poster paper from ASSETS 2015 explores how people with visual impairments respond to different navigation interface designs during in situ walking tasks. The authors observe that prior research has been limited in two ways: user studies of navigation applications are…

  visual impairment · blind navigation · non-visual navigation · wayfinding · wizard of oz

• 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

• Haptic 3D Surface Representation of Table-Based Data for People With Visual Impairments

  Jonas Braier, Katharina Lattenkamp, Benjamin Räthel, Sandra Schering, Michael Wojatzki, Benjamin Weyers · 2014 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper introduces "relief charts"—3D surface representations of standard data visualizations (bar graphs, pie charts, scatter plots, radar charts) designed to make complex tabular data accessible to people with visual impairments. The approach is grounded in neuroscientific…

  visual impairment · haptic interfaces · data visualization · inclusive education · 3D printing

• Buildings and Users with Visual Impairment: Uncovering Factors for Accessibility Using BIT-Kit

  Lesley J. McIntyre, Vicki L. Hanson · 2014 · ASSETS '14: Proceedings of the 16th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This paper introduces BIT-Kit (Building Interactions Tool-kit), a mixed-method framework for gathering evidence about how buildings impact the accessibility of users with visual impairments. The framework combines three methods: semi-structured interviews about past building…

  visual impairment · wayfinding · built environment · architecture · accessibility evaluation

• Tactile Graphics with a Voice: Using QR Codes to Access Text in Tactile Graphics

  Catherine M. Baker, Lauren R. Milne, Jeffrey Scofield, Cynthia L. Bennett, Richard E. Ladner · 2014 · ASSETS '14: Proceedings of the 16th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This paper presents Tactile Graphics with a Voice (TGV), a system that makes text labels in tactile graphics accessible by replacing Braille labels with QR codes that can be scanned and read aloud using a smartphone. The motivation is significant: while tactile graphics are…

  visual impairment · blindness · tactile graphics · QR codes · Braille

• 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

• Text-to-Speeches: Evaluating the Perception of Concurrent Speech by Blind People

  João Guerreiro, Daniel Gonçalves · 2014 · ASSETS '14: Proceedings of the 16th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This paper investigates whether blind people can leverage the Cocktail Party Effect—the human ability to focus on one speech source among several while still detecting relevant content in the background—to more efficiently scan digital information. Screen readers present content…

  visual impairment · blindness · screen readers · speech perception · cocktail party effect

• Tactile Aids for Visually Impaired Graphical Design Education

  Samantha McDonald, Joshua Dutterer, Ali Abdolrahmani, Shaun K. Kane, Amy Hurst · 2014 · Proceedings of the 16th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility (ASSETS 2014)

  This demonstration paper describes the creation of over 10 tactile aids using laser cutting and 3D printing to make graphic design theory accessible to a visually impaired student enrolled in an introduction to human-centered computing class at UMBC. The course unit covered…

  visual impairment · tactile graphics · 3D printing · rapid prototyping · education

• Path-Guided Indoor Navigation for the Visually Impaired Using Minimal Building Retrofitting

  Dhruv Jain · 2014 · Proceedings of the 16th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility (ASSETS 2014)

  This paper presents the design and evaluation of a cellphone-based indoor navigation system that provides step-by-step path guidance for visually impaired users in unfamiliar buildings with minimal infrastructure requirements. The system combines infrared (IR) beacons mounted at…

  indoor navigation · visual impairment · wayfinding · assistive technology · infrared

• From Screen Reading to Aural Glancing: Towards Instant Access to Key Page Sections

  Prathik Gadde, Davide Bolchini · 2014 · Proceedings of the 16th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility (ASSETS 2014)

  This paper addresses a fundamental problem in screen reader navigation: while sighted users can glance at a web page to instantly understand its structure and locate relevant sections, screen reader users are forced to listen to content serially, making navigation of complex…

  screen readers · web navigation · blindness · visual impairment · e-commerce accessibility

• ABC and 3D: Opportunities and Obstacles to 3D Printing in Special Education Environments

  Erin Buehler, Shaun K. Kane, Amy Hurst · 2014 · Proceedings of the 16th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility (ASSETS 2014)

  This paper presents a formative study exploring how 3D printing can support special education across three diverse sites: a school for students with moderate to severe cognitive disabilities (Site A), a school for blind and visually impaired students (Site B), and the technology…

  3D printing · special education · assistive technology · digital fabrication · STEM education