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Nowadays, typing is considered as one of the highly important aspects of accessibility that the visually impaired and blinds struggle with the most as existing virtual keyboards are complex and slow. This paper proposes a new text entry method named SwingBoard for visually impaired and blind smartphone users to solve their accessibility problem. It supports a–z, 0–9, 7 punctuations, 12 symbols, and eight keyboard functionalities that are arranged in 8 zones (specific range of angles), four segments, two modes, and different gestures. The proposed keyboard is suitable for the either single-handed or both-handed operation that tracks swipe angle and length to trigger any of the 66 key events. The key triggering process is based on only swiping the finger at different angles with different lengths. Typing speed of SwingBoard is increased by including some effective features such as the quick alphabet and number mode shifting, haptic feedback feature, talkback on swipe to learn the map quickly, and customizable swipe length feature. At the end of 150 one-minute tests, seven blind participants reached an average of 19.89 words per minute (WPM) with an 88% accuracy rate which is one of the fastest-ever recorded average typing speeds for the blind. Almost all users found SwingBoard effective, easy to learn and want to keep using it. SwingBoard is a handy virtual keyboard for visually impaired people with amazing typing speed and accuracy. Rehabilitation would be easier for a visually impaired/disabled person who can adapt the current technology-oriented world and use communication tools easily. As visually impaired and blind people faced a lot of problems in their regular life because of their inability to see things, coping with the evolving world's demands from a person to do a certain task using smart devices would be easier for them with the proposed virtual keyboard topology. As the number of visually impaired and blind users of smartphones rises, faster typing becomes a vital aspect of the smartphone experience. Deaf-blind communities are expanding but solutions for them are not increasing at the same pace because of the limitation of implication. Research on a virtual keyboard with the proposed eyes-free swipe-based typing operation and ears-free reliability on haptic feedback would enable others to create new solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature review presents a conceptual participatory design through accessibility technology solutions, considering the design experience to be an essential factor in communication processes. Technologies must assess a wide range of disabilities based on characterisations that helps daily activities. This work includes collaboration concepts to assist in the development of accessible technology. Collaborative design requires the fostering of communication between actors involved in the design process. This work implemented with a protocol of guidelines developed by a group of experts in disability research. The relevant literature is included and assessed based on three categories: accessibility, assistive technologies, and participatory design. A knowledge gap can be identified: the development of assistive technology processes should enhance the voice of participants and consider their ideas, desires and needs. Multidisciplinary communication is necessary to identify problems and propose solutions, and it is essential that people with disabilities collaborate with experts from a range of disciplines to identify problem-solving patterns. A participatory design can develop a holistic understanding of the participant's motivation and rehabilitation needs. This has provided a grounded basis to offer information about the assistive technology design. A participatory work provides information about the technology design which may finally result in a better understanding of rehabilitation, other types of home-based healthcare or the gamification for rehabilitation. The rehabilitation professionals can explore requirements of a customised technology for users, which allows to transfer knowledge about disabilities and skills in rehabilitation to people with disabilities, their families and communities. The notion of a research problem in rehabilitation can be re-evaluated through a participatory design process that attempts to capture the subjective experiences of persons with disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]