Gallaudet experts weigh in on caption customization and other tech advances at international conference

Three faculty members from Gallaudet’s Accessible Human-Centered Computing (AHCC) Program — co-directors Dr. Raja Kushalnagar and Dr. Christian Vogler, as well as Assistant Professor Dr. Abraham Glasser — presented at the International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs in Linz, Austria in July.

Kushalnagar served as a session chair for the track on “Accessibility for the Deaf and Hard-Of-Hearing,” which featured eight papers, including two from Gallaudet. One focused on caption customization, comparing user ratings for four conditions: verbatim captions, slowed-down verbatim captions, captions heavily edited by ChatGPT, and lightly edited captions by a large language model optimized for TV content. Although participants in the study strongly preferred the two versions of verbatim captions, results suggest that more research is needed as the technology improves.

Gallaudet’s other paper considered the usability of closed sign language interpreting, a feature that allows video viewers to toggle sign language interpretation on and off. Participants expressed a variety of preferences about interpreter size and placement, indicating that several options should be made available.

Additional tracks at the conference focused on issues such as making entertainment content more inclusive and methods for creating accessible material in higher education. Links to the two-part proceedings of the conference and other information are available here.