Abstract: Current screen-centric technologies are well suited to display information visually but still pose significant challenges to people who are blind and visually impaired. Two key aspects of interactive systems that still remain largely dependent on vision are the navigation architecture, critical for effectively browsing information, and onscreen keyboards, essential for searching and messaging.  In this talk, I will discuss recent research focused on rethinking interaction from the spatio-visual constraints of the screen to auditory experiences. I will present current studies conducted with blind and visually impaired individuals to explore the potential and limitations of current prototypes that manifest the notions of screenless navigation and entirely auditory keyboards, introducing the ability to bypass our reliance on a reference screen.  The implications for this research may inform future designs of interactive technologies for typing and browsing that are not only useful for people who are blind but can support scenarios in which interaction needs to be eyes-free, discreet and quiet also for sighted users. 

Short bio: Davide Bolchini is full Professor and founding Chair of the Department of Human-Centered Computing at Indiana University School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI, and Director of the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) MS and PhD programs. His research interests include conceptual design and user requirements models for interactive applications, user experience design and usability evaluation methods, healthcare user interfaces, and interactive accessibility for the blind and visually impaired. His research generated over 120 peer-reviewed publications in major international conferences and journals in the field, and he actively serves as reviewer and program committee member on several international venues and research funding agencies. He is a two-time recipient of the Google Faculty Research Award and served as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on multiple research grants awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). His research has been continuously funded by the NSF since 2010.