Publications

Shape changing materials create a unique opportunity to design reconfigurable tactile display actuators. In this paper, we present a method that transforms a single thin monolithic sheet of Nitinol into a passive reconfigurable tactile pixel array at Braille resolution. We have designed a 27x27 tactile pixel array in which each pixel can be selectively actuated with an external source of heat. The pixels rise 0.4mm vertically with a peak blocked force of 0.28kg and have an average blocked force of 0.23kg at room temperature. After cooling, the pixels can be mechanically reconfigured back to their flat state for repeatable actuation. We demonstrate this actuator’s interactive capabilities through a novel erasable tactile drawing interface.

T. Bhatnagar, N. Marquardt, M. Miodownik and C. Holloway, "Transforming a Monolithic Sheet of Nitinol into a Passive Reconfigurable Tactile Pixel Array Display at Braille Resolution," 2021 IEEE World Haptics Conference (WHC), 2021, pp. 409-414, doi: 10.1109/WHC49131.2021.9517239.

Approximately 15% of the world's population has a disability and 80% live in low resource-settings, often in situations of severe social isolation. Technology is often inaccessible or inappropriately designed, hence unable to fully respond to the needs of people with disabilities living in low resource settings. Also lack of awareness of technology contributes to limited access. This workshop will be a call to arms for researchers in HCI to engage with people with disabilities in low resourced settings to understand their needs and design technology that is both accessible and culturally appropriate. We will achieve this through sharing of research experiences, and exploration of challenges encountered when planning HCI4D studies featuring participants with disabilities. Thanks to the contributions of all attendees, we will build a roadmap to support researchers aiming to leverage post-colonial and participatory approaches for the development of accessible and empowering technology with truly global ambitions.

Giulia Barbareschi, Dafne Zuleima Morgado-Ramirez, Catherine Holloway, Swami Manohar Swaminathan, Aditya Vashistha, and Edward Cutrell. 2021. Disability Design and Innovation in Low Resource Settings: Addressing Inequality Through HCI. Extended Abstracts of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 124, 1–5. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/3411763.3441340

Most research which investigates stigma towards with people with disabilities and the use of Assistive Technology (AT) are based in the Global North and focus on the experiences of people with disabilities and the consequences that stigma has on choices surrounding AT. However, stigma is a societal construct rooted in the attitude and beliefs that people without disabilities hold on disability and AT. Furthermore, the portrayal of people with disabilities and AT is dependent on the social context. In this paper, we examine how young Kenyans without disabilities view people with disabilities and AT users. Findings show that while the portrayal of disability is often shaped by negative emotion, participants felt that many of the barriers affecting people with disabilities were created by society. Perceptions of AT differed –devices were not only seen as a mark of disability but also as a sign of access to resources. Therefore, what we see is an emergent picture where social barriers can be reinforced by poverty, and where poverty reinforces social barriers faced by people with disabilities. We conclude that access to appropriate technology alongside societal interventions tackling incorrect beliefs about disability can help to overcome the stigma faced by people with disabilities.

Giulia Barbareschi, Norah Shitawa Kopi, Ben Oldfrey, and Catherine Holloway. 2021. What difference does tech make? Conceptualizations of Disability and Assistive Technology among Kenyan Youth: Conceptualizations of Disability and AT. In The 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '21). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 18, 1–13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3441852.3471226

Orientation and mobility (O&M) training provides essential skills and techniques for safe and independent mobility for blind and partially sighted (BPS) people. The demand for O&M training is increasing as the number of people living with vision impairment increases. Despite the growing portfolio of HCI research on assistive technologies (AT), few studies have examined the experiences of BPS people during O&M training, including the use of technology to aid O&M training. To address this gap, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 BPS people and 8 Mobility and Orientation Trainers (MOT). The interviews were thematically analysed and organised into four overarching themes discussing factors influencing the self-efficacy belief of BPS people: Tools and Strategies for O&M training, Technology Use in O&M Training, Changing Personal and Social Circumstances, and Social Influences. We further highlight opportunities for combinations of multimodal technologies to increase access to and effectiveness of O&M training.

The emerging possibilities of multisensory interactions provide an exciting space for disability and open up opportunities to explore new experiences for perceiving one's own body, it's interactions with the environment and also to explore the environment itself. In addition, dynamic aspects of living with disability, life transitions, including ageing, psychological distress, long-term conditions such as chronic pain and new conditions such as long-COVID further affect people's abilities. Interactions with this diversity of embodiments can be enriched, empowered and augmented through using multisensory and cross-sensory modalities to create more inclusive technologies and experiences. To explore this, in this workshop we will explore three related sub-domains: immersive multi-sensory experiences, embodied experiences, and disability interactions and design. The aim is to better understand how we can re-think the senses in technology design for disability interactions and the dynamic self, constructed through continuously changing sensing capabilities either because of changing ability or because of the empowering technology. This workshop will: (i) bring together HCI researchers from different areas, (ii) discuss tools, frameworks and methods, and (iii) form a multidisciplinary community to build synergies for further collaboration.

Maryam Bandukda, Aneesha Singh, Catherine Holloway, Nadia Berthouze, Emeline Brulé, Ana Tajadura-Jiménez, Oussama Metatla, Ana Javornik, and Anja Thieme. 2021. Rethinking the Senses: A Workshop on Multisensory Embodied Experiences and Disability Interactions. Extended Abstracts of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 118, 1–5. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/341176...

Globally persons with disabilities have lower employment rates compared to the general population due to systemic barriers particularly in the formal sector. In developing countries, 80 percent to 90 percent of people with disabilities of working age are unemployed. There has been limited research in low-income and middle-income countries focused on the barriers to access and retain formal employment for persons with disabilities. The aim of this paper, based on desk research, is to analyse the barriers to access and retain formal employment of persons with disabilities which are framed in three categories according to where the barriers primarily manifest: 1. In the workplace among employers and co-workers without disabilities, 2. Among persons with disabilities seeking or engaged in formal employment and 3. In the wider social, physical and policy environment. Although the study mainly focuses on Kenya and Bangladesh other countries’ literature on access to and retention of employment of persons with disabilities were reviewed where relevant. In the current context where the global pandemic is breaking barriers to remote working one part of the solution will be to empower persons with disabilities with appropriate access to Information and Communication Technology, assistive devices and services, digital skills, creating more accessible and inclusive digital platforms for persons with disabilities which also hold the potential to improve working conditions and productivity for the whole workforce as well as enhancing resilience to potential future shocks.

Jahan & Holloway, 2020, Barriers to Access and Retain Formal Employment for Persons with Disabilities in Bangladesh and Kenya, GDI Hub Working Paper Series Issue 01