News from the ACM Special Interest Group on Accessible Computing
News
June 2020 Newsletter
Issue 127 Preview: Welcome to the June 2020 issue of the ACM SIGACCESS newsletter. In this issue first article, SIGACCESS calls upon its research community for proposals to combat racism and ableism within computer science. The second article highlights the largest ASSETS yet, marking the 25th anniversary since the first conference in 1994, the 2019 edition in Pittsburgh. The third article provides an overview of the discussions that took place at the 2019 CSCW workshop …
Call for Nominations: SIGACCESS Outstanding Contributions to Computing and Accessibility Award
We are seeking nominations for the 2020 SIGACCESS Outstanding Contributions to Computing and Accessibility Award. Nominations are due by June 30, 2020. Please send all questions or nomination materials to simon.harper@manchester.ac.uk. For details, see the Outstanding Contributions Award page.
January 2020 Newsletter
Issue 126 Preview: Welcome to the January 2020 issue of the ACM SIGACCESS newsletter. This issue highlights the ACM ASSETS 2019 Doctoral Consortium and presents a report on the efforts made to make the poster and demo session accessible. Additionally, you will find an report by Access SIGCHI on the status of accessibility practices and policies within SIGCHI.
Call of Papers: ASSETS 2020
The ASSETS conference is the premier forum for presenting research on the design, evaluation, use, and education related to computing for people with disabilities and older adults. We invite high-quality original submissions on topics relevant to computing and accessibility. Submissions should present significant contributions to design, systems, tools, scientific understanding, methodology, or social issues. Relevant topics include (but are not limited to) new enabling technologies, studies of how technologies are used by people with disabilities, …
2019 Best Student Paper
Deep Learning for Automatically Detecting Sidewalk Accessibility Problems Using Streetscape Imagery Author(s): Galen Weld, Esther Jang, Anthony Li, Aileen Zeng, Kurtis Heimerl and Jon E. Froehlich Institution: University of Washington and University of Maryland Abstract: Recent work has applied machine learning methods to automatically find and/or assess pedestrian infrastructure in online map imagery (e.g., satellite photos, streetscape panoramas). While promising, these methods have been limited by two interrelated issues: small training sets and the choice …
2019 Best Paper
Sign Language Recognition, Generation, and Translation: An Interdisciplinary Perspective Author(s): Danielle Bragg, Oscar Koller, Mary Bellard, Larwan Berke, Patrick Boudreault, Annelies Braffort, Naomi Caselli, Matt Huenerfauth, Hernisa Kacorri, Tessa Verhoef, Christian Vogler and Meredith Morris Institution: Microsoft Research, Microsoft, Rochester Institute of Technology, Gallaudet University, Paris-Saclay University, Orsay, Boston University, University of Maryland, Leiden University. Abstract: Developing successful sign language recognition, generation, and translation systems requires expertise in a wide range of fields, including computer …
2019 SIGACCESS ASSETS Paper Impact Award winner
Slide rule: making mobile touch screens accessible to blind people using multi-touch interaction techniques. Author(s): Shaun K. Kane, Jeffrey P. Bigham, and Jacob O. Wobbrock. Description: In October 2008 at ASSETS, Shaun Kane, Jeff Bigham, and Jacob Wobbrock described their work on an experimental screen reader system called Slide Rule. The paper took a risk, studying a technology, touchscreen devices, that seemed inherently inaccessible to blind users and demonstrated convincingly that they could be made …
October 2019 Newsletter
Issue 125 Preview: Welcome to the October 2019 issue of the ACM SIGACCESS newsletter. This issue highlights the upcoming ASSETS 2019 Workshop AI Fairness for People with Disabilities and features eight of its position papers. Additionally, you will find an article on the benefits of accessibility topics in course curricula.
ASSETS 2019 – Student Research Competition
If you are an undergraduate or graduate student researching accessible computing or assistive technologies, we invite you to submit a two-page contribution to the ASSETS 2019 Student Research Competition (SRC). Authors of accepted submissions will present a poster summary of their contribution to a panel of experts at the ASSETS conference. The top three undergraduate and top three graduate poster presenters will then present their research to the conference audience. All accepted SRC submissions will …
June 2019 Newsletter
Issue 124 Preview: Welcome to the June 2019 issue of the ACM SIGACCESS newsletter. In the first article, Clayton Lewis writes an interesting article on how machine learning can benefit people with cognitive disabilities, what are the current technology limitations, and how can we, as a community, overcome them. In the second article, Carringyon, Laput, and Bigham present SpokeSense, a sensing solution designed for wheelchair basketball players that provides support for both long-term and real-time …