| Low Vision: The Role of Visual Acuity in the Efficiency of Cursor Movement | | BIBAK | PDF | 1-8 | |
| Julie A. Jacko; Armando B. Barreto; Gottlieb J. Marmet; Josey Y. M. Chu; Holly S. Bautsch; Ingrid U. Scott; Robert H. Rosa | |||
| Graphical user interfaces are one of the more prevalent interface types
which exist today. The popularity of this interface type has caused problems
for users with poor vision. Because usage strategies of low vision users differ
from blind users, existing research focusing on blind users is not sufficient
in describing the techniques employed by low vision users.
The research presented here characterizes the interaction strategies of a particular set of low vision users, those with Age-related Macular Degeneration, using an analysis of cursor movement. The low vision users have been grouped according to the severity of their vision loss and then compared to fully sighted individuals, with respect to cursor movement efficiency. Results revealed that as the size of the icons on the computer screen increased, so did the performance of the fully sighted participants as well as the participants with AMD. Keywords: Low vision, Cursor movement, Icon size, Age-related macular degeneration,
Search strategy, Graphical user interface, GUI | |||
| A Framework of Assistive Pointers for Low Vision Users | | BIBAK | PDF | 9-16 | |
| Julie Fraser; Carl Gutwin | |||
| Manipulating a mouse pointer is often difficult for the low vision computer
user. Working with such a small, mobile screen object is very visually
demanding. Although several techniques have been used to address this problem,
the design space of assistive pointers has not been fully explored by the
current state of the art. This paper proposes a four dimensional framework to
fully articulate the design space of assistive pointers for low vision users.
The dimensions of the framework describe the key attributes of assistance
offered to users by any pointing solution: the perceptual channel that carries
the assistance, the stage of targeting supported by the assistance, the
relationship between the assistance and the interface, and the degree of
availability associated with the assistance. Keywords: Low vision, Partial vision, Visual impairment, Adaptive technology, Mouse
pointer, Graphical interface | |||
| Constructing Sonified Haptic Line Graphs for the Blind Student: First Steps | | BIBAK | PDF | 17-25 | |
| Rameshsharma Ramloll; Wai Yu; Stephen Brewster; Beate Riedel; Mike Burton; Gisela Dimigen | |||
| Line graphs stand as an established information visualisation and analysis
technique taught at various levels of difficulty according to standard
Mathematics curricula. It has been argued that blind individuals cannot use
line graphs as a visualisation and analytic tool because they currently
primarily exist in the visual medium. The research described in this paper aims
at making line graphs accessible to blind students through auditory and haptic
media. We describe (1) our design space for representing line graphs, (2) the
technology we use to develop our prototypes and (3) the insights from our
preliminary work. Keywords: Force feedback, Haptic display, Line graphs, Spatial sound, Visual
impairment | |||
| Tactile Imaging Using Watershed-Based Image Segmentation | | BIBAK | PDF | 26-33 | |
| Sergio E. Hernandez; Kenneth E. Barner | |||
| A new image segmentation method is proposed for the automatic conversion of
images from visual to tactile form. The proposed method utilizes a
watershed-based algorithm for obtaining the initial segmentation. A new joint
region merging criterion is developed to reduce the number of initial regions
in a more appropriate way. The joint criterion combines, in a weighted fashion,
criteria based on region homogeneity and edge integrity, which have each been
applied marginally with some relative success. However, each criteria has shown
some significant drawbacks when applied independently. The new criterion takes
joint advantage of these two methods, giving a final segmentation that is more
visually appropriate. Experimental results are presented showing the advantages
of the new merging criterion. Also, the proposed method is compared with
multiresolution (MR) edge detection techniques for tactile imaging
applications. Additional results are included showing the advantages of the
segmentation procedure over MR edge detection techniques. Keywords: Tactile imaging, Image segmentation, Blind and non-visual interfaces | |||
| A Study of Blind Drawing Practice: Creating Graphical Information Without the Visual Channel | | BIBAK | PDF | 34-41 | |
| Hesham M. Kamel; James A. Landay | |||
| Existing drawing tools for blind users give inadequate contextual feedback
on the state of the drawing, leaving blind users unable to comprehend and
successfully produce graphical information. We have investigated a tactile
method of drawing used by blind users that mimics drawing with a pencil and a
paper. Our study revealed a set of properties that must be incorporated into
drawing tools for blind users, including giving feedback for relocating
important points, determining angles, and communicating the overall structure
of the drawing. We describe a grid-based model that provides these properties
in a primitive-based 2D graphics environment, and we introduce its use in
drawing and other graphical interactions. Keywords: Non-visual drawing tools, GUIs for blind users, Contextual inquiry,
Feedback, Grid models of the world | |||
| New Technology Enables Many-Fold Reduction in the Cost of Refreshable Braille Displays | | BIBAK | PDF | 42-49 | |
| John Roberts; Oliver Slattery; David Kardos; Brett Swope | |||
| By analysis of the primary cost factors for existing refreshable Braille
displays, a team at NIST has pioneered a new technology that can reduce the
cost of the electromechanical portions of a Braille display by an extremely
large factor, and the overall cost of a Braille display by as much as a factor
of ten. A massive cost reduction in displays creates a new model for the
purchase and use of Braille displays by individuals, by employers, and by
educators. Readability and user control issues are addressed. It is hoped that
this technology will open a significant new market for low cost, high
performance refreshable Braille displays. Keywords: Refreshable Braille, Passive pin retention, Wheel | |||
| A Storytelling Robot for Pediatric Rehabilitation | | BIBAK | PDF | 50-55 | |
| Catherine Plaisant; Allison Druin; Corinna Lathan; Kapil Dakhane; Kris Edwards; Jack Maxwell Vice; Jaime Montemayor | |||
| We are developing a prototype storytelling robot for use with children in
rehabilitation. Children can remotely control a large furry robot by using a
variety of body sensors adapted to their disability or rehabilitation goal. In
doing so, they can teach the robot to act out series of movements or "emotions"
and then write stories -- using a storytelling software -- including those
movements in the story. The story can then be "played" by the remote controlled
robot, which acts out the story. We believe that this robot can motivate the
children and help them reach their therapy goals through therapeutic play,
either by exercising muscles or joints (e.g. for physically challenges
children) or by reflecting on the stories (e.g. for children with developmental
disabilities). We use an innovative design methodology involving children as
design partners. Keywords: Therapeutic play, Robot, Children, User interface, Design process,
Rehabilitation | |||
| A Virtual Reality-Based Exercise Program for Stroke Rehabilitation | | BIBAK | PDF | 56-63 | |
| David Jack; Rares Boian; Alma Merians; Sergei V. Adamovich; Marilyn Tremaine; Michael Recce; Grigore C. Burdea; Howard Poizner | |||
| A PC based desktop Virtual Reality system was developed for rehabilitating
hand function in stroke patients. The system uses two hand input devices, a
CyberGlove and a RMII force feedback glove, to allow the user to interact with
one of four rehabilitation exercises. Each of which is designed to exercise one
specific parameter of hand movement, namely range, speed, fractionation or
strength. The therapy program is semi-automated and personalized to each user
through the use of performance-based target levels. These are adapted between
sessions in order to induce the user to improve. Feedback is provided to each
user throughout the exercise sessions. To further motivate the user to continue
the exercise program, screen displays are designed as interactive games. The
system is described and sample data is presented from preliminary studies
performed on control subjects. Keywords: Virtual reality, Rehabilitation, Stroke, Haptic glove, CyberGlove, Rutgers
Master II | |||
| Fast Web by Using Updated Content Extraction and a Bookmark Facility | | BIBAK | PDF | 64-71 | |
| Tsuyoshi Ebina; Seiji Igi; Teruhisa Miyake | |||
| This paper describes improved methods of web access for the visually
impaired. Some A few web access systems for the visually impaired have already
been developed and are widely used. The improvements described in this paper
are in two areas. The first is a fastest mean of jumping from the current
sentence position into desired sentence position within web pages. The second
is a facility for searching for sentences that have been updated since a
previous viewing. User testing was carried out, and the two facilities were
found to reduce not only the web page access time but also the user's mental
workload. Keywords: Web access, Visually impaired, Bookmark, Updated-sentence search facility | |||
| A Comparison of Voice Controlled and Mouse Controlled Web Browsing | | BIBAK | PDF | 72-79 | |
| Kevin Christian; Bill Kules; Ben Shneiderman; Adel Youssef | |||
| Voice controlled web browsers allow users to navigate by speaking the text
of a link or an associated number instead of clicking with a mouse. One such
browser is Conversa, by Conversational Computing. This within subjects study
with 18 subjects compared voice browsing with traditional mouse-based browsing.
It attempted to identify which of three common hypertext forms (linear slide
show, grid/tiled map, and hierarchical menu) are well suited to voice
navigation, and whether voice navigation is helped by numbering links. The
study shows that voice control adds approximately 50% to the performance time
for certain types of tasks. Subjective satisfaction measures indicate that for
voice browsing, textual links are preferable to numbered links. Keywords: Human-computer interaction, User interfaces, Voice browsers, Voice
recognition, Web browsing | |||
| Evaluating Web Resources for Disability Access | | BIBAK | PDF | 80-84 | |
| Murray Rowan; Peter Gregor; David Sloan; Paul Booth | |||
| A majority of Web based information, facilities and services is
unnecessarily inaccessible to people with certain disabilities, largely due to
a lack of awareness of accessibility issues on the part of developers. This
paper argues that currently available accessibility evaluation methods are
unsatisfactory in the scope and presentation of their results. Consequently,
there is a need for a meta-method which utilises the strengths of current
methods, but which also bridges their weaknesses. The paper discusses a
comprehensive, yet usable methodology for evaluating web sites for
accessibility. Using this methodology, a semi-automatic accessibility
evaluation tool is proposed, which will guide evaluators through the auditing
process and produce a set of tailored recommendations for making the subject
site accessible. Keywords: Accessibility, Usability, Disability, Evaluation, Web resources | |||
| An Empirical Investigation of Ways in which Some of the Problems Encountered by Some Dyslexics May be Alleviated Using Computer Techniques | | BIBAK | PDF | 85-91 | |
| Peter Gregor; Alan F. Newell | |||
| This research describes the development of a highly configurable word
processing environment to alleviate some of the difficulties encountered by
dyslexics when producing and reading text. It also describes a pragmatic,
empirical methodology, closely involving dyslexic users, which has proved
highly effective.
All dyslexic subjects tested were able to use the software to identify and store a configuration of background and foreground colour, text typeface and font, and spacing between characters, words and lines which they found easier to read than the default settings. Successful tests were also carried out to investigate the use of different appearances (font, colour etc.) to alleviate character recognition and reversal problems. Keywords: Dyslexia, User-centred design, Configuration, Word processing | |||
| An Intelligent Tutoring System for Deaf Learners of Written English | | BIBAK | PDF | 92-100 | |
| Lisa N. Michaud; Kathleen F. McCoy; Christopher A. Pennington | |||
| This paper describes progress toward a prototype implementation of a tool
which aims to improve literacy in deaf high school and college students who are
native (or near native) signers of American Sign Language (ASL). We envision a
system that will take a piece of text written by a deaf student, analyze that
text for grammatical errors, and engage that student in a tutorial dialogue,
enabling the student to generate appropriate corrections to the text. A strong
focus of this work is to develop a system which adapts this process to the
knowledge level and learning strengths of the user and which has the
flexibility to engage in multi-modal, multi-lingual tutorial instruction
utilizing both English and the native language of the user. Keywords: Intelligent tutoring systems, User modeling, English literacy, Second
language acquisition, American Sign Language | |||
| The Development of Language Processing Support for the ViSiCAST Project | | BIBAK | PDF | 101-108 | |
| R. Elliott; J. R. W. Glauert; J. R. Kennaway; I. Marshall | |||
| ViSiCAST is a major new project funded by the European Union, aiming to
provide improved access to services and facilities for deaf citizens through
sign language presented by a virtual human, or avatar. We give here an outline
of the project, and describe early work in the area of linguistics and language
processing. This work covers two distinct but related areas: First, the
development of an XML-compliant notation for deaf sign language gestures, which
can be used to drive the signing avatar; and, second, the development of a
framework supporting the translation of natural language text into this
gesture-orientated notation. Keywords: Sign language, Virtual signing, Language processing | |||
| The LF-ASD Brain Computer Interface: On-Line Identification of Imagined Finger Flexions in Subjects with Spinal Cord Injuries | | BIBAK | PDF | 109-113 | |
| Steven G. Mason; Ziba Bozorgzadeh; Gary E. Birch | |||
| Our research has focused on developing a brain-controlled switch that is
suitable for asynchronous control applications. We have developed a switch, the
Low Frequency Asynchronous Switch Design (LF-ASD) that users can activate by
imagining movement. On-line implementations of the LF-ASD has shown promising
results in respond to actual index finger flexions and imagined finger flexions
within able-bodied subjects. This work reports the results of our first test
with subjects with high-level spinal-cord injuries. In this study, two subjects
with high-level spinal-cord injuries were able to control the LF-ASD with
imagined voluntary movements with hit (true positive) rates from 45-48% and
false positive rates below 1%. Keywords: Brain, Human, Computer, Machine, Interface, BCI, EEG, Spinal-cord injury,
Switch | |||
| Human Factors Issues in the Neural Signals Direct Brain-Computer Interfaces | | BIBAK | PDF | 114-120 | |
| Melody M. Moore; Philip R. Kennedy | |||
| Controlling a computer directly by brain signals has been made possible by
the development of a neurotrophic electrode that is implanted in the human
motor cortex. The success of this technology can be enhanced by researching and
developing new human-computer interface paradigms for neural signal control.
This paper summarizes progress to date on the software aspects of the Neural
Signals brain-computer interface project and presents a vision and strategy for
upcoming research. Keywords: Neural signals, Brain-computer interfaces, Accessible software | |||
| Neck Range of Motion and Use of Computer Head Controls | | BIBAK | PDF | 121-128 | |
| Edmund LoPresti; David M. Brienza; Jennifer Angelo; Lars Gilbertson; Jonathan Sakai | |||
| Computer head controls provide an alternative means of computer access for
people with disabilities. However, a person's ability to use head controls may
be reduced if his or her disability involves neck movement limitations. In this
study, 15 subjects without disabilities and 10 subjects with disabilities
received neck range of motion evaluations and performed computer exercises
using head controls. Regression analysis was used to determine the relationship
between neck range of motion and performance on computer exercises. Reduced
neck range of motion was found to be correlated with reduced functional range
for moving the cursor across the screen, and reduced accuracy and speed in icon
selection. Fitts' Law-type models were fit to the data, indicating higher
Fitts' law slopes for subjects with disabilities compared to subjects without
disabilities. Results also indicate that vertical cursor movements are faster
than horizontal or diagonal movements. Keywords: Disability, Head controls, Head movement | |||
| Investigating the Applicability of User Models for Motion-Impaired Users | | BIBAK | PDF | 129-136 | |
| Simeon Keates; John Clarkson; Peter Robinson | |||
| This paper considers the differences between users with motion-impairments
and able-bodied users when they interact with computers and the implications
for user models. Most interface design and usability assessment practices are
based on explicit or implicit models of user behaviour. This paper studies the
applicability of an existing interface design user model to motion-impaired
users for the relatively straightforward task of button activation. A
discussion of the empirical results is provided and the paper concludes that
there are significant differences between the behaviour of motion-impaired
users and the accepted modelling theory. Keywords: Universal access, Motion-impaired users, User models | |||
| Evaluation of Scanning User Interfaces Using Real-Time-Data Usage Logs | | BIBAK | PDF | 137-141 | |
| Peter O'Neill; Chris Roast; Mark Hawley | |||
| This research concerns the use of Human Computer Interaction models to
assist in the provision of the Electronic Assistive Technologies (EAT) for
people with severe disabilities. The novel feature of this work is that the
evaluation is conducted through the model-based analysis of automatically
generated usage logs. This analysis provides a source of feedback to
clinicians, which has previously been unavailable from assistive technology
users. The overall aim of the research is to provide a set of tools to assist
with the prescription and configuration of assistive technologies. Keywords: Electronic assistive technology, Integrated systems, Analysis, Modelling | |||
| A Java Programming Tool for Students with Visual Disabilities | | BIBAK | PDF | 142-148 | |
| Ann C. Smith; Joan M. Francioni; Sam D. Matzek | |||
| This paper reports on a tool for assisting students with visual disabilities
in learning how to program. The tool is meant to be used by computer science
majors learning the programming language Java. As part of the developmental
process of building this tool, we have implemented a rapid prototype to be used
by people with disabilities in order to define appropriate requirements for the
full version of the tool. This requires that the prototype is completely usable
via a keyboard and speech interface, and it is easily adaptable for trying out
different strategies. In this paper, we present the motivation and philosophy
of the full tool, called JavaSpeak. We also present the details of a prototype
implementation of JavaSpeak. Keywords: Java, Programming tool, Students with visual disabilities, Learning to
program | |||
| Programming by Voice, VocalProgramming | | BIBAK | PDF | 149-155 | |
| Stephen C. Arnold; Leo Mark; John Goldthwaite | |||
| A system that enables a person to program without typing is needed because
of the high incidents of repetitive stress injuries among people who program.
This paper presents a design for a system that generates environments that
enables people to program by voice and a method of determining if the system is
successful. It also shows how this generator can be used to support entering
data and writing XML documents. Keywords: Computer programming, Voice recognition, XML | |||
| A Semantic Transcoding System to Adapt Web Services for Users with Disabilities | | BIBAK | PDF | 156-163 | |
| Anita W. Huang; Neel Sundaresan | |||
| Among the most critical issues of the internet today is how to make Web
content accessible to all users, especially to users with disabilities. To meet
the diverse needs and abilities of this population, the Web today calls for the
development of new systems and methods to enable the same content to be adapted
for display according to specific, often conflicting needs. One way to achieve
this goal is through Web content transcoding. This paper presents a system,
called Aurora, that transcodes Web content based on semantic rather than
syntactic constructs. The goal is to deliver Web-based services (such as
auction, search engine, travel, etc.) to a diverse set of users according to
their specific needs. Using a schema-driven framework, Aurora extracts and maps
Web content into domain-specific XML data based on abstract user goals. In
doing so, it separates the meaning Web content from its presentation. The
system further enables an extensible set of interface adaptors to generate
custom Web pages, on-the-fly, from this standardized XML data. Ultimately, it
streamlines and customizes the Web interface to facilitate navigation. The
mechanisms of this rule-based semantic transcoding system and its advantages
and limitations as a strategy to make Web services more accessible are the
subject of this paper. Keywords: Adaptability, Adaptivity, Disabled users, Web intermediaries, Web
accessibility, XML transcoding | |||
| Transcoding Proxy for Nonvisual Web Access | | BIBAK | PDF | 164-171 | |
| Hironobu Takagi; Chieko Asakawa | |||
| These days, the web has been coming to play various types of roles, so each
site has been designed in a complex way to integrate as many roles as possible.
Web authors tend to cram various functions and many links into one page to
improve usability for sighted users. This authoring trend makes nonvisual Web
access harder. To solve this problem, we decided to develop a system to
transcode already-existing Web pages to be accessible, which works as an
intermediary (proxy) between a Web server and a user. Our transcoding proxy
consists of 5 modules using 3 kinds of annotations. The user interface of the
system is characterized by three transcoding modes: simplification, full-text
and original page. In this paper, we will describe an overview of our
transcoding proxy as well as the user interface of the system. Keywords: Blind, Web accessibility, Transcoding, Annotations, Differential, Portal | |||
| Annotation-Based Transcoding for Nonvisual Web Access | | BIBAK | PDF | 172-179 | |
| Chieko Asakawa; Hironobu Takagi | |||
| These days, Web authors try to describe as much information as possible in
one page using various types of visual effects. This information is visually
fragmented into groupings. Blind users read the Web contents in tag order, but
visually fragmented groupings are not accessible using tag order reading. In
addition, the Web contents are designed to be visually appealing using a lot of
images. This style makes nonvisual Web access harder. Therefore we decided to
develop an annotation-based transcoding system to convert already-existing Web
pages to be accessible, which works between a Web server and a user. It
consists of two components, one for structural annotations and one for
commentary annotations. Structural annotations are used to recognize visually
fragmented groupings as well as to show the importance and basic role of each
group. Commentary annotations are used to give users a useful description of
each grouping. In this paper, we will describe our transcoding method for
nonvisual Web access based on the annotations. Keywords: Nonvisual Web access, Transcoding system, Structural annotation, Commentary
annotation, Blind | |||
| A Domain Specific Language Framework for Non-Visual Browsing of Complex HTML Structures | | BIBAK | PDF | 180-187 | |
| E. Pontelli; W. Xiong; G. Gupta; A. I. Karshmer | |||
| We present a general framework for navigating complex structures --
specifically, tables, frames, and forms -- found in web-pages. Our framework is
based on an (automatically or manually created) program written in a domain
specific language that captures the semantic structure of the table/frame/form
as well as specifies the strategy to be used for navigating it. We describe our
general framework and the domain specific language we have designed. Keywords: HTML, Web browsers, Domain specific languages | |||
| Constructive Exploration of Spatial Information by Blind Users | | BIBAK | PDF | 188-192 | |
| Jochen Schneider; Thomas Strothotte | |||
| When blind people wish to walk through an area not fully known to them, they
have to prepare themselves even more thoroughly than sighted pedestrians. We
propose a new approach to support this preparation with the help of an
interactive computer method, called constructive exploration. Using this
method, the user is guided in physically constructing the spatial arrangement
to be learned using building blocks. We describe two implementations of the
concept, one with a graspable interface with object tracking and the other
employing a force feedback device. We report on first tests of the
implementations. Keywords: Orientation aids, Blind users, Augmented reality, Force feedback devices | |||
| Wearable Interfaces for Orientation and Wayfinding | | BIBAK | PDF | 193-200 | |
| David A. Ross; Bruce B. Blasch | |||
| People with severe visual impairment need a means of remaining oriented to
their environment as they move through it. Three wearable orientation
interfaces were developed and evaluated toward this purpose: a stereophonic
sonic guide (sonic "carrot"), speech output, and shoulder-tapping system.
Street crossing was used as a critical test setting in which to evaluate these
interfaces. The shoulder-tapping system was found most universally usable.
Considering the great variety of co-morbidities within this population, the
authors concluded that a combined tapping/speech interface would provide
usability and flexibility to the greatest number of people under the widest
range of environmental conditions. Keywords: Orientation aid, Blindness, Wayfinding, Street crossing | |||