ACM SIGACCESS International Conference on Computers and Accessibility (AccessComputing News - January 2014)

The fifteenth ACM SIGACCESS International Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2013) was held October 21–23, 2013 in Bellevue, Washington, just across Lake Washington from Seattle. The ASSETS conference is a major forum for research in the design, evaluation, and use of computing and information technologies to benefit people with disabilities and older adults.

More than 160 people attended the conference. There were twenty-seven papers, forty posters, and eight demonstrations that were accepted to the conference by a rigorous peer review. Of particular interest were two new events at the conference: experience reports and a user experience panel. The two experience reports were about first-hand experiences by users of technologies intended for them. The user experience panel consisted of three non-researcher individuals with disabilities who were asked about their experiences with technology and what they would like to see in the future.

At least twelve people with disabilities attended the conference, half of them graduate students, and many of them speakers. Sign language interpretation was available throughout the conference and some limited captioning was also available. The hotel in Bellevue was chosen in part because of its accessibility features. It was great to see technical talks by several current and past AccessComputing team members. The next ASSETS conference will be in Rochester, New York, October 20–23, 2014.