Assessment of Sign Language-Based versus Touch-Based Input for Deaf Users Interacting with Intelligent Personal Assistants

Abstract: With the recent advancements in intelligent personal assistants (IPAs), their popularity is rapidly increasing when it comes to utilizing Automatic Speech Recognition within households. In this study, we used a Wizard-of-Oz methodology to evaluate and compare the usability of American Sign Language (ASL), Tap to Alexa, and smart home apps among 23 deaf participants within a limited-domain smart home environment. Results indicate a slight usability preference for ASL. Linguistic analysis of the participants' signing reveals a diverse range of expressions and vocabulary as they interacted with IPAs in the context of a restricted-domain application. On average, deaf participants exhibited a vocabulary of 47 +/- 17 signs with an additional 10 +/- 7 fingerspelled words, for a total of 246 different signs and 93 different fingerspelled words across all participants. We discuss the implications for the design of limited-vocabulary applications as a stepping-stone toward general-purpose ASL recognition in the future.