@conference {Mulf1706:Wearable, title = {Wearable Devices and {IoT} as Enablers of Assistive Technologies}, booktitle = {Tenth International Conference on Developments in e-Systems Engineering - DeSE2017 (DeSE2017)}, year = {2017}, address = {Paris, France}, abstract = {In assistive technology scenarios, this paper investigates how wearable devices may be used as smart solutions for accessing computers. We focus our attention on a smartwatch available on the consumer market; by using an open source middleware, based on low cost embedded systems, we propose to develop custom apps to process data from smartwatch{\textquoteright}s resources (e.g., sensors) and send them to a Linux single board computer. The latter component plays a critical role because it converts received data into raw input signals for a connected computer by emulating a standard mouse or a keyboard. Since the process requires no software installation on the target device, the user with a disability benefits from a single personalized equipment to control a wide range of computer devices, including traditional personal computers, tablets and smartphones. Additionally, the embedded system accesses the Internet and it takes advantage of the container-based virtualization technology to customize on demand its behaviour according to user{\textquoteright}s needs and preferences.}, keywords = {Assistive Technology, Computer accessibility, Container Based Virtualization, embedded systems, Smartwatch, Wearable devices}, author = {Davide Mulfari and Antonino Longo Minnolo and Antonio Puliafito} } @proceedings {468, title = {Using Google Cloud Vision in Assistive Technology Scenarios}, journal = {IEEE Workshop on ICT solutions for eHealth 2016 (ICTS4eHealth2016)}, year = {2016}, address = {Messina, Italy}, abstract = {

Google Cloud Vision is an image recognition technology that allows you to remotely process the content of an image and to retrieve its relevant features, including image labeling, face and landmark detection, optical character recognition, and tagging of explicit content. By using specialized REST API, called Google Cloud Vision API, developers exploit such a technology within their own applications. Currently, this cloud-based tool is in limited preview and its services are accessible for trusted tester users only. From a developer{\textquoteright}s perspective, in this paper, we intend to use such software resources in order to achieve assistive technology solutions for people with disabilities. Specifically, we investigate some potential benefits of Cloud Vision tool towards the development of applications for users who are blind.

}, keywords = {API, Assistive Technology, embedded systems, Google Cloud Vision, Image Processing}, author = {D. Mulfari and A. Celesti and M. Fazio and M. Villari and A. Puliafito} } @article {10.4108/cs.1.1.e4, title = {Achieving Assistive Technology Systems Based on IoT Devices in Cloud Computing}, journal = {EAI Endorsed Transactions on Cloud Systems}, volume = {15}, number = {1}, year = {2015}, month = {2}, publisher = {ICST}, keywords = {Assistive Technology, cloud computing, embedded systems, human computer interaction, Internet of Things, Users with disabilities.}, issn = {2410-6895}, doi = {10.4108/cs.1.1.e4}, author = {Davide Mulfari and Antonio Celesti and Maria Fazio and Massimo Villari and Antonio Puliafito} } @inbook {291, title = {Embedded systems for supporting computer accessibility}, booktitle = {Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe (AAATE)}, number = {217: Assistive Technology}, year = {2015}, pages = {378-385}, publisher = {IOS Press}, organization = {IOS Press}, edition = {Series: Studies in Health Technology and Informatics}, address = {Budapest, Hungary}, abstract = {Nowadays, customized AT software solutions allow their users to interact with various kinds of computer systems. Such tools are generally available on personal devices (e.g., smartphones, laptops and so on) commonly used by a person with a disability. In this paper, we investigate a way of using the aforementioned AT equipments in order to access many different devices without assistive preferences. The solution takes advantage of open source hardware and its core component consists of an affordable Linux embedded system: it grabs data coming from the assistive software, which runs on the user{\textquoteright}s personal device, then, after processing, it generates native keyboard and mouse HID commands for the target computing device controlled by the end user. This process supports any operating system available on the target machine and it requires no specialized software installation; therefore the user with a disability can rely on a single assistive tool to control a wide range of computing platforms, including conventional computers and many kinds of mobile devices, which receive input commands through the USB HID protocol.}, keywords = {Assistive Technology, cloud computing, IoT}, isbn = {978-1-61499-565-4 (print) | 978-1-61499-566-1 (online)}, doi = {10.3233/978-1-61499-566-1-378}, url = {http://ebooks.iospress.nl/publication/40681}, author = {Davide Mulfari and Antonio Celesti and Maria Fazio and Massimo Villari and Antonio Puliafito} } @proceedings {31, title = {Using Embedded Systems to Spread Assistive Technology on Multiple Devices in Smart Environments}, journal = {IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine (BIBM)}, year = {2014}, month = {2014}, pages = {5-11}, publisher = {IEEE Computer Society}, address = {Belfast}, abstract = {

Nowadays, Assistive Technology (AT) systems are\ closely tied to the devices that they control. Considering a smart
environment where a person with a disability needs to interact\ with multiple devices, the user is forced to rely on AT software
tools available on the each used platform. Therefore, computer\ skills are required to adjust any different computing environment
configuration according to the user{\textquoteright}s needs and preferences.\ To address such issues, in this paper, we discuss the usage of
embedded systems able to interface sensors and existing AT\ software tools running on user{\textquoteright}s personal equipments, in order
to natively interact with many platforms. Thus, our work aims to\ decouple AT software tools from the accessed computer systems,
allowing us to control various kinds of computer systems, even\ those that do not provide any AT features, by using just a\ personal assistive equipment.

}, keywords = {Assistive Technology, embedded systems, human computer interaction, Internet of Things, Users with disabilities}, issn = {978-1-4799-5669-2}, doi = {10.1109/BIBM.2014.6999234}, author = {Davide Mulfari and Antonio Celesti and Maria Fazio and Massimo Villari and Antonio Puliafito} } @proceedings {48, title = {Using Virtualization And noVNC to Support Assistive Technology In Cloud Computing}, journal = {Third Symposium on Network Cloud Computing and Applications (NCCA)}, year = {2014}, pages = {125{\textendash}132}, publisher = {IEEE COMPUTER SOC}, address = {Wa}, abstract = {

In this paper, we focus on how the virtualization technology can support the usage of Assistive Technology (AT) in cloud computing. AT provides software tools to people with disabilities. Unfortunately, these pieces of software are not easy to configure when a disabled user needs to occasionally use a shared computer, e.g., in an internet point, in a library, in a campus, and so on. The proposed solution allows users to access remote Virtual Machines (VMs) through an HTML5 web interface. These virtual environments meet the user{\textquoteright}s personal demand: they support both traditional desktop applications and customized AT tools. In this way, people with disabilities can use any networked computer with a web browser to manage their personal working environments. Nevertheless, achieving such a goal in a cloud computing environment is not trivial at all, because existing remote desktop client viewer applications have not been designed to support the interaction with AT software running on VMs. To achieve such an objective, we propose an open source cloud-based system including no VNC as HTML5 remote desktop proxy/client web application, Virtual Network Computing (VNC) as open source technology to access a remote VM, Oracle Virtual Box as hypervisor, and CLEVER as Virtual Infrastructure Manager (VIM) middleware.

}, keywords = {Assistive Technology, cloud computing, disabled user, HTML5, Virtualization, VNC}, issn = {978-0-7695-5168-5}, doi = {10.1109/NCCA.2014.28}, author = {D. Mulfari and A. Celesti and M. Villari and A. Puliafito} } @conference {Mulfari:2013:CCS:2461121.2461140, title = {How cloud computing can support on-demand assistive services}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 10th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility}, series = {W4A {\textquoteright}13}, year = {2013}, pages = {27:1{\textendash}27:4}, publisher = {ACM}, organization = {ACM}, address = {New York, NY, USA}, keywords = {Assistive Technology, cloud computing, HTML5, Remote desktop, Virtual Machine, VNC}, isbn = {978-1-4503-1844-0}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2461121.2461140}, url = {http://doi.acm.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2461121.2461140}, author = {Mulfari, Davide and Celesti, Antonio and Puliafito, Antonio and Villari, Massimo} } @proceedings {49, title = {Using Virtualization And Guacamole/vnc To Provide Adaptive User Interfaces To Disabled People In Cloud Computing}, journal = {The 10th IEEE International Conference on Ubiquitous Intelligence and Computing (UIC-2013)}, year = {2013}, month = {20}, pages = {72{\textendash}79}, publisher = {IEEE COMPUTER SOC}, address = {Washington, DC}, abstract = {

Assistive Technology (AT) provides essential computer accessibility for people with disabilities. In this paper, we examine how Cloud computing can provide adaptive user interfaces to people with disabilities in order to enable them accessing AT tools in form of Software as a Service (SaaS). The proposed solution consists in creating adaptive user interfaces deploying AT tools in Virtual Machines (VMs) which users can manage through the Internet. By using an HTML5-based web interface, computer users with disabilities are able to interact with personalized virtual desktops from any networked computer by means of a web browser without having to setup additional software on the physical machine. Nevertheless, using AT software in web-accessed VMs is not so easy as well as in physical Desktops, because several issues have to be overcome. In order to address such issues, we discuss an architecture integrating Guacamole, i.e., an HTML5 remote desktop gateway, Virtual Network Computing (VNC), i.e., a technology to control a remote Desktop, Virtual Box, i.e., a virtual machine monitor (or hypervisor), and CLEVER a Virtual Infrastructure Manager (VIM) middleware.

}, keywords = {Assistive Technology, cloud computing, HTML5, Physiological, Remote desktop, Virtualization infrastructure, Web browser}, issn = {978-1-4799-2481-3}, doi = {10.1109/UIC-ATC.2013.42}, author = {D. Mulfari and A. Celesti and M. Villari and A. Puliafito} } @conference {6726193, title = {Using Virtualization and Guacamole/VNC to Provide Adaptive User Interfaces to Disabled People in Cloud Computing}, booktitle = {Ubiquitous Intelligence and Computing, 2013 IEEE 10th International Conference on and 10th International Conference on Autonomic and Trusted Computing (UIC/ATC)}, year = {2013}, month = {Dec}, pages = {72-79}, keywords = {adaptive user interfaces, Adaptive User Interfaces and Tools, assisted living, Assistive Technology, AT software, AT tools, Browsers, CLEVER, cloud computing, Computer architecture, Computers, disabled people, graphical user interfaces, Guacamole, handicapped aids, HTML5, HTML5 remote desktop gateway, HTML5-based Web interface, hypermedia markup languages, hypervisor, Internet, internetworking, Keyboards, middleware, networked computer, online front-ends, personalized virtual desktops, Psychological Factors, Remote desktop, SaaS, Servers, software as a service, VIM middleware, Virtual Box, virtual infrastructure manager middleware, virtual machine monitor, virtual machines, virtual network computing, virtualisation, Virtualization, VNC, Web browser, Web-accessed VM}, doi = {10.1109/UIC-ATC.2013.42}, author = {Mulfari, D. and Celesti, A. and Villari, M. and Puliafito, A.} }