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• Self-Adapting User Interfaces as Assistive Technology for Handheld Mobile Devices

  Robert Dodd · 2006 · Assets '06: Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper addresses a fundamental challenge in mobile device accessibility: the limitations of bolt-on assistive technology solutions for handheld devices. Published at Assets '06, the premier ACM conference on accessible computing, it proposes a paradigm shift from…

  mobile accessibility · self-adapting interfaces · assistive technology · user modeling · design space

• Dialog Generation for Voice Browsing

  Zan Sun, Amanda Stent, I. V. Ramakrishnan · 2006 · Proceedings of the 2006 International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility (W4A): Building the Mobile Web: Rediscovering Accessibility?

  This paper presents HearSay, a voice browser system developed at Stony Brook University that provides speech-driven web access for people with visual disabilities. Unlike conventional screen readers that force users to arrow through a linearized, single-column presentation of…

  voice browsing · screen readers · visual impairment · web page segmentation · content summarization

• Opening up access to online documents using essentiality tracks

  Matthew T. Atkinson, Jatinder Dhiensa, Colin H. C. Machin · 2006 · Proceedings of the 2006 International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from Loughborough University presents extensions to the "essentiality and proficiency" approach for improving document accessibility and usability. The core concept is that web page content has varying levels of importance for different users, and authors can assign…

  document accessibility · content filtering · XML · universal design · information overload

• The Personal Portable Profile Project

  Blaise W. Liffick, Gary Zoppetti, Shane Shearer · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents the Personal Portable Profile (P3) system, a hardware and software solution designed to let users with disabilities carry their computer accessibility settings between machines. The core problem addressed is that operating system user profiles — covering…

  assistive technology · user profile · personalization · portable accessibility · operating system settings

• DuckCall: Tackling the First Hundred Yards Problem

  Stephen Fickas, Craig Pataky, Zebin Chen · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper describes DuckCall, a TV-based reminder system designed to help people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) overcome the "first hundred yards problem" — the challenge of preparing for and getting to the first transit pick-up point for community travel. Background studies…

  cognitive disabilities · traumatic brain injury · social isolation · community navigation · transportation access

• Designing Assistive Technology for Blind Users

  Kristen Shinohara · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper reports on an observational and interview case study of a congenitally blind college student (pseudonym Sara) conducted in her home to develop design insights for improving interactions between blind users and everyday technological artifacts. The researcher used…

  blindness · assistive technology · human-centered design · ethnography · case study

• A Demonstration of the iCARE Portable Reader

  Terri Hedgpeth, John A. Black, Jr., Sethuraman Panchanathan · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents the portable iCARE Reader, an assistive device developed at Arizona State University that allows people who are blind or visually impaired to read printed text more naturally and conveniently than existing flatbed scanner-based reading systems. The project…

  blindness · visual impairment · OCR · assistive technology · reading systems

• Hardware-Based Text-to-Braille Translator

  Xuan Zhang, Cesar Ortega-Sanchez, Iain Murray · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper describes the implementation of a text-to-Braille translator in hardware using Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), as an alternative to the software-based translators that dominate the market. The translator implements Paul Blenkhorn's algorithm for converting…

  braille · braille translation · FPGA · hardware · embedded systems

• Facetop Tablet: Note-Taking Assistance for Deaf Persons

  Dorian Miller, James Culp, David Stotts · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents Facetop Tablet, a system designed to assist deaf and hard of hearing people in taking notes during meetings, lectures, and group activities. The core problem is that deaf users who rely on sign language interpreters face a constant visual context-switching…

  deaf · hard of hearing · sign language · note-taking · meeting accommodation

• Wireless Headset Communications for Vision Impaired Persons in Multi-User Environments

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

  This paper addresses a practical workplace accessibility problem: vision impaired persons (VIPs) who work in call centres rely on screen reading software that outputs speech through headsets, but in multi-user environments with many wireless headsets, radio-based wireless…

  visual impairment · wireless headset · screen reader · call centre · workplace accessibility

• Improvements in Vision-based Pointer Control

  Rick Kjeldsen · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents the HeadTracking Pointer (HTP), a vision-based head tracking system developed at IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center that uses a standard webcam to allow people with motor disabilities to control a computer pointer through head movements. The system addresses…

  head tracking · pointer control · computer vision · assistive technology · motor disabilities

• Loudmouth: Modifying Text-to-Speech Synthesis in Noise

  Rupal Patel, Michael Everett, Eldar Sadikov · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This short paper from Northeastern University presents Loudmouth, a modified text-to-speech synthesizer that emulates the Lombard effect — the natural way humans adjust their speech in noisy environments — to improve synthesized speech intelligibility in noise. Standard TTS…

  text-to-speech · speech synthesis · AAC · Lombard effect · speech intelligibility

• Interactive Tracking of Movable Objects for the Blind on the Basis of Environment Models and Perception-Oriented Object Recognition Methods

  Andreas Hub, Tim Hartter, Thomas Ertl · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper from the University of Stuttgart presents advances to an indoor navigation and object identification system for blind and deafblind users. The system combines a stereo camera and 3D inertial sensor mounted on a bicycle helmet with detailed 3D environment models of…

  indoor navigation · object recognition · blind users · computer vision · assistive technology

• Developing Steady Clicks: A Method of Cursor Assistance for People with Motor Impairments

  Shari Trewin, Simeon Keates, Karyn Moffatt · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper from IBM Research and the University of British Columbia presents Steady Clicks, a cursor assistance feature designed to reduce clicking errors for mouse users with motor impairments. The system addresses three specific error types identified in prior empirical…

  motor impairment · cursor assistance · mouse input · clicking errors · target acquisition

• Indoor Wayfinding: Developing a Functional Interface for Individuals with Cognitive Impairments

  Alan L. Liu, Harlan Hile, Henry Kautz, Gaetano Borriello, Pat A. Brown, Mark Harniss, Kurt Johnson · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper from the University of Washington describes the design and user evaluation of an indoor wayfinding system for individuals with cognitive impairments, including traumatic brain injury, Down syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder, and cerebral palsy. Rather than…

  cognitive impairment · wayfinding · indoor navigation · wizard of oz · multimodal interface

• Usability and Accessibility Issues in the Localization of Assistive Technology

  Ira Jhangiani · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This doctoral consortium paper from Virginia Polytechnic Institute examines the usability and accessibility challenges that arise when assistive technology software designed in one country is localized for users with disabilities in another. The research evaluates a portable…

  assistive technology · localization · internationalization · usability · low vision

• From Letters to Words: Efficient Stroke-based Word Completion for Trackball Text Entry

  Jacob O. Wobbrock, Brad A. Myers · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents a significant extension to Trackball EdgeWrite, a unistroke text entry method designed for people who use trackballs as their primary pointing device. The original Trackball EdgeWrite allowed users to enter text one character at a time by rolling a trackball…

  text entry · trackball · motor impairment · word prediction · word completion

• A Rollator-Mounted Wayfinding System for the Elderly: A Smart World Perspective

  Aliasgar Kutiyanawala, Vladimir Kulyukin, Edmund LoPresti · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents the iWalker, a rollator-mounted wayfinding system designed to help elderly individuals with cognitive and visual impairments navigate indoor environments independently. The system adopts a "smart world" perspective, where intelligence is distributed between…

  wayfinding · aging · assistive technology · robotics · cognitive impairment

• 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