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• ASL Educators' Perspectives on AI for Enhancing Student Learning in American Sign Language Education

  Saad Hassan, Laleh Nourian, Caluã de Lacerda Pataca, Michelle M Olson, Toni D'aurio, Kanupriya Agarwal, Syeda Mah Noor Asad, Garreth W. Tigwell, Matt Huenerfauth · 2026 · CHI '26: Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

  This CHI 2026 paper from a multi-institution US team (Tulane, Rochester Institute of Technology, Birmingham City University) investigates how AI could support American Sign Language (ASL) education — and centres, for the first time in this literature, the perspectives of the…

  American Sign Language · ASL · sign language education · deaf educators · AI in education

• Disclosure Matters: How Self-Disclosure Statements in Song Signing Videos Shape d/Deaf Audiences' Acceptance of Culturally Sensitive Content

  Suhyeon Yoo, Somang Nam, Mark Chignell, Khai N. Truong · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  This CHI 2026 paper investigates whether self-disclosure statements (SDS) — short first-person texts in which a song signer describes their identity, motivations, training, and relationship to the Deaf community — can improve how d/Deaf audiences receive song signing videos on…

  self-disclosure · Deaf culture · song signing · cultural appropriation · sign language

• ASL Wiki: An Exploratory Interface for Crowdsourcing ASL Translations

  Abraham Glasser, Fyodor Minakov, Danielle Bragg · 2022 · Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This paper presents ASL Wiki, a novel bilingual web interface that enables the Deaf and Hard-of-hearing (DHH) community to crowdsource English-to-American Sign Language (ASL) translations of text articles. The system addresses two interconnected problems: the severe lack of…

  sign language · ASL · Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing · crowdsourcing · bilingual interface

• Support in the Moment: Benefits and use of video-span selection and search for sign-language video comprehension among ASL learners

  Saad Hassan, Akhter Al Amin, Caluã de Lacerda Pataca, Diego Navarro, Alexis Gordon, Sooyeon Lee, Matt Huenerfauth · 2022 · Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This paper investigates technology to support American Sign Language (ASL) learners in comprehending challenging sign-language videos by enabling in-context dictionary lookup. The researchers conducted two studies at Rochester Institute of Technology. Study 1 interviewed 14 ASL…

  sign language · American Sign Language · ASL · video comprehension · dictionary search

• Effect of Sign-recognition Performance on the Usability of Sign-language Dictionary Search

  Saad Hassan, Oliver Alonzo, Abraham Glasser, Matt Huenerfauth · 2021 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper investigates how the performance of sign-language recognition technology affects user satisfaction with ASL dictionary search systems. Unlike written languages where users can type unfamiliar words to look them up, ASL learners who encounter an unfamiliar sign cannot…

  American Sign Language · ASL · sign language recognition · dictionary search · information retrieval

• Chat in the Hat: A Portable Interpreter for Sign Language Users

  Larwan Berke, William Thies, Danielle Bragg · 2020 · Proceedings of the 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper addresses a fundamental limitation of Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) sign language users: existing smartphone-based VRI requires the DHH person to either hold the phone with one hand (reducing signing to one-handed and causing…

  deaf and hard of hearing · sign language · video remote interpreting · augmented reality · workplace accessibility

• Tradeoffs in the Efficient Detection of Sign Language Content in Video Sharing Sites

  Caio D. D. Monteiro, Frank M. Shipman, Satyakiran Duggina, Ricardo Gutierrez-Osuna · 2019 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This paper addresses the problem of finding sign language (SL) content on video sharing sites like YouTube, where such videos serve as de-facto digital libraries of Deaf community knowledge, experiences, and culture. Metadata-based search is inadequate — prior work showed only…

  sign language · video analysis · content detection · deaf and hard of hearing · computer vision

• Delivering Sign Language in a Live Planetarium Show Using Head-Mounted Displays and Infrared Light

  Michael D. Jones, M. Jeannette Lawler · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This paper presents a system for delivering real-time American Sign Language (ASL) narration during live planetarium shows using head-mounted displays (HMDs) and infrared light. Planetariums pose unique accessibility challenges for deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) audiences: the…

  sign language · deaf and hard of hearing · head-mounted display · augmented reality · informal learning

• Sign Language Recognition, Generation, and Translation: An Interdisciplinary Perspective

  Danielle Bragg, Oscar Koller, Mary Bellard, Larwan Berke, Patrick Boudreault, Annelies Braffort, Naomi Caselli, Matt Huenerfauth, Hernisa Kacorri, Tessa Verhoef, Christian Vogler, Meredith Ringel Morris · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This paper provides a comprehensive interdisciplinary overview of sign language processing — encompassing recognition, generation, and translation — produced through a two-day workshop bringing together 39 experts from computer science, linguistics, Deaf studies, and industry.…

  sign language · Deaf culture · computer vision · natural language processing · machine translation

• Effect of Automatic Sign Recognition Performance on the Usability of Video-Based Search Interfaces for Sign Language Dictionaries

  Oliver Alonzo, Abraham Glasser, Matt Huenerfauth · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This paper investigates how the performance of automatic sign recognition technology affects user satisfaction when searching for unfamiliar words in an ASL-to-English dictionary. Looking up an unknown sign in ASL is fundamentally harder than looking up an unknown written word:…

  sign language · ASL · sign language recognition · dictionary · Deaf and hard of hearing

• Modeling the Speed and Timing of American Sign Language to Generate Realistic Animations

  Sedeeq Al-khazraji, Larwan Berke, Sushant Kafle, Peter Yeung, Matt Huenerfauth · 2018 · Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '18)

  This paper addresses the challenge of generating realistic computer animations of American Sign Language (ASL) by automatically modeling three critical timing parameters: where prosodic pauses should be inserted, how long those pauses should last, and how the signing speed of…

  sign language · ASL · animation · machine learning · Deaf accessibility

• Designing an Animated Character System for American Sign Language

  Danielle Bragg, Raja Kushalnagar, Richard Ladner · 2018 · Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2018)

  This University of Washington and Gallaudet University paper introduces the first animated character system prototype for sign language, addressing the fundamental problem that sign languages — used by approximately 70 million people worldwide as their primary language — lack a…

  sign language · deaf accessibility · ASL · writing systems · animation

• Exploring the Performance of Facial Expression Recognition Technologies on Deaf Adults and Their Children

  Irene Rogan Shaffer · 2018 · Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2018)

  This Boston University student research paper investigates how commercial facial expression recognition services perform on Deaf ASL signers and Children of Deaf Adults (CODAs) compared to hearing non-signers. The study is motivated by a critical problem: in ASL and other sign…

  deaf and hard of hearing · sign language · facial expression recognition · emotion recognition · AI fairness

• Closed ASL Interpreting for Online Videos

  Raja Kushalnagar, Matthew Seita, Abraham Glasser · 2017 · Proceedings of the 14th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper introduces "closed interpreting," a concept analogous to closed captioning but for sign language interpretation of online videos. While many deaf viewers prefer ASL interpreters over captions (as verbatim captioning speed often exceeds reading abilities, and deaf…

  American Sign Language · ASL · Deaf and hard of hearing · sign language interpreting · video accessibility

• 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

• 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

• Effect of Displaying Human Videos During an Evaluation Study of American Sign Language Animation

  Hernisa Kacorri, Pengfei Lu, Matt Huenerfauth · 2013 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper addresses a critical methodological question in sign language animation research: how does the choice of upper baseline (human video vs. high-quality animation) and the modality of comprehension questions affect evaluation results? The authors conducted three phases…

  sign language animation · ASL · deaf accessibility · evaluation methodology · user studies

• 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

• Design and Evaluation of an American Sign Language Generator

  Matt Huenerfauth, Liming Zhao, Erdan Gu, Jan Allbeck · 2007 · Proceedings of the Workshop on Embodied Language Processing (EmbodiedNLP 2007)

  Huenerfauth, Zhao, Gu, and Allbeck (2007) describe the implementation and user evaluation of a prototype system for generating animations of American Sign Language (ASL) classifier predicates — spatially complex hand movements that trace the location, motion, shape, or contour…

  ASL · American Sign Language · deaf accessibility · sign language · sign language animation

• American Sign Language Recognition in Game Development for Deaf Children

  Helene Brashear, Valerie Henderson, Kwang-Hyun Park, Harley Hamilton, Seungyon Lee, Thad Starner · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents CopyCat, an educational computer game that uses gesture recognition technology to help young deaf children (ages 6-11) practice American Sign Language (ASL) skills. The project addresses a critical language development challenge: 90% of deaf children are born…

  deaf education · sign language recognition · ASL · gesture recognition · computer vision

• American Sign Language natural language generation and machine translation

  Matt Huenerfauth · 2005 · SIGACCESS Accessibility and Computing

  Matt Huenerfauth's 2005 paper describes a research programme to build an English-to-American Sign Language (ASL) machine translation (MT) system that generates animations of a 3D virtual-reality signing character. The author frames the project against a stark literacy gap: most…

  ASL · American Sign Language · deaf accessibility · sign language · sign language animation

• A Multi-Path Architecture for Machine Translation of English Text into American Sign Language Animation

  Matt Huenerfauth · 2004 · Proceedings of the Student Research Workshop at HLT-NAACL 2004

  Huenerfauth's 2004 student-research-workshop paper proposes a 'multi-path' (or 'pyramidal') architecture for English-to-American Sign Language machine translation that unifies the three classical MT paradigms — direct, transfer, and interlingua — into a single system, with each…

  ASL · American Sign Language · deaf accessibility · sign language · sign language animation

24 results.