Deaf and Hard of Hearing People’s Perspectives on Augmented Reality Interfaces for Improving the Accessibility of Smart Speakers

The continued evolution of voice recognition technology has led to its integration into many smart devices as the primary mode of user interaction. Smart speakers are among the most popular smart devices that utilize voice recognition to offer interactive functions and features to serve as a personal assistant and a control hub for smart homes. However, smart speakers rely primarily on voice recognition technology and are often inaccessible to Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) individuals. While smart speakers such as the Amazon Echo Show have a built-in screen to provide visual interaction for DHH users through features such as “Tap to Alexa,” these devices still require users to be positioned next to them. Though features such as “Tap to Alexa” improve the accessibility of smart speakers for DHH users, they are not functionally comparable solutions as they restrict DHH users from benefiting the same user freedom hearing users have in interacting with them from across the room or while performing another hands-on activity. To bridge this gap, we explore alternative approaches such as augmented reality (AR) wearables and various projection systems. We conducted a mixed-method study involving surveys and Wizard of Oz evaluations to investigate the proposed research objectives. The study’s findings provide a deeper insight into the potential of AR projection interfaces as novel interaction methods to improve the accessibility of smart speakers for DHH people.