Alexa, I Wanna See You: Envisioning Smart Home Assistants for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing

TL;DR

This paper envisions inclusive Smart Home Assistants tailored for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing users, emphasizing multimodal feedback, AR integration, and context awareness to enhance accessibility and interaction.

Contribution

It proposes a novel design framework for SHAs that incorporates visual feedback, multimodal input, and sound detection to serve DHH users effectively.

Findings

Highlights the importance of visual and multimodal feedback for DHH users

Proposes integrating AR for enhanced visual interaction

Emphasizes context-aware features like sound detection

Abstract

Smart Home Assistants (SHAs) have become ubiquitous in modern households, offering convenience and efficiency through its voice interface. However, for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) individuals, the reliance on auditory and textual feedback through a screen poses significant challenges. Existing solutions primarily focus on sign language input but overlook the need for seamless interaction and feedback modalities. This paper envisions SHAs designed specifically for DHH users, focusing on accessibility and inclusion. We discuss integrating augmented reality (AR) for visual feedback, support for multimodal input, including sign language and gestural commands, and context awareness through sound detection. Our vision highlights the importance of considering the diverse communication needs of the DHH community in developing SHA to ensure equitable access to smart home technology.