Project dates: 2020 - Ongoing
This project is conducted by members of the research group Inclusive technologies for people of diverse cognitive abilities.
Bridging the gap between advances in artificial intelligence and assistive technologies, this project aims to co-design pictorial visual communication applications with people with intellectual disability or autism and community members.
This project researches how computers can understand and facilitate a rich pictorial communication between people and person to machine, thereby supporting inclusion.
Tangible Designs
The first stage of this project explored tangible designs to explore and encourage the use of images by people who had abandoned AAC (Augmentative Alternative Communication) devices. These designs have demonstrated the importance of embedding communication devices in the environment, rather than solely focusing on tools that serve as a proxy for communicating.
Digital Designs
The second stage of this project will seek to inclusively co-design picture-based digital technologies with people with intellectual disability or autism and members of the community . We welcome expression of interest from individuals to take part in upcoming co-design activities and trials. You can contact us by email, or send your details through our online form
Current Studies
Digital Communication Boards
AR (Augmented Reality) Text Illustrators
Audio-visual tools for web search
Visual Inclusive Social Networks
These applications will inform future innovations for everyone, and allow citizens with intellectual disability or autism to access online information, participate in community activities and be included in the workplace. We are always looking for students with skills in HCI and/or machine learning to join the team!
Funding / Grants
- ARC Future Fellowship (2020 - 2025)
Chief Investigators
Other Team Members
PhD Students
- Filip Bircanin (completed)
- Manesha Andradi
- Alicia Mitchell
Master Students
- Yuankun Zhu
Publications
- Roomkham, Sirin, Terris, Shannon, Sitbon, Laurianne, Barbosa, Simone, Lampe, Cliff, Appert, Caroline, Sharma, David A. (2022) Multi-modal Conversational Search for People with Intellectual Disability: An Exploratory Study CHI EA '22: Extended Abstracts of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings.
- Mitchell, Alicia, Sitbon, Laurianne, Balasuriya, Saminda Sundeepa, Koplick, Stewart, Beaumont, Chris, Ardito, Carmelo, Lanzilotti, Rosa, Malizia, Alessio, Petrie, Helen, Piccinno, Antonio, et al. (2021) Social Robots in Learning Experiences of Adults with Intellectual Disability: An Exploratory Study Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2021: 18th IFIP TC 13 International Conference, Bari, Italy, August 30 – September 3, 2021, Proceedings, Part I, Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Information Systems and Applications, incl. Internet/Web, and HCI), pp.266-285.
- Andradi, Manesha, Bircanin, Filip, Sitbon, Laurianne, Brereton, Margot (2021) Expanding Designing for One to Invite Others Through Reverse Inclusion ASSETS '21: The 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility, ASSETS 2021 - 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility.
- Robertson, Nicholas L, Bircanin, Filip, Sitbon, Laurianne (2021) Designing a Pictorial Communication Web Application With People With Intellectual Disability ASSETS '21: The 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility, ASSETS 2021 - 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility.
- Bircanin, Filip, Sitbon, Laurianne, Ploderer, Bernd, Azaabanye Bayor, Andrew, Esteban, Michael, Koplick, Stewart, Brereton, Margot, Guerreiro, T., Nicolau, H., Moffatt, K. (2020) The TalkingBox: Revealing strengths of adults with severe cognitive disabilities ASSETS '20: The 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility, ASSETS 2020 - 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility.
- Bircanin, Filip, Ploderer, Bernd, Sitbon, Laurianne, Bayor, Andrew A., Brereton, Margot (2019) Challenges and opportunities in using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technologies: Design considerations for adults with severe disabilities OZCHI'19: Proceedings of the 31st Australian Conference on Human-Computer-Interaction, ACM International Conference Proceeding Series, pp.184-196.
- Wilson, Cara, Sitbon, Laurianne, Brereton, Margot, Johnson, Daniel, Koplick, Stewart, Parker, C (2016) 'Put yourself in the picture': designing for futures with young adults with intellectual disability Proceedings of the 28th Australian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction, pp.271-281.