Research on Accessibility

The following professorial chairs at UZH conduct research on inclusion and accessibility.

Chair of Inclusion and Diversity

Research at the Chair of Inclusion and Diversity is fundamental and interdisciplinary. Special interest is placed on the category of disability – both in its current and in its historical dimension.Chair of Inclusion and Diversity

Chair of Language, Technology and Accessibility

The Chair of Language, Technology and Accessibility deals with language-based assistive technologies and digital accessibility with a focus on basic and application-oriented research. Researchers at the chair subscribe to a broad definition of language and communication; as such, they deal with spoken language (text and speech), sign language, simplified language, Braille and pictographs, among other things.
Chair of Language, Technology and Accessibility

Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies Project

The four-year project, supported by the Swiss Innovation Agency (Innosuisse) under its flagship scheme, aims to develop information and communication technologies (ICT) for people with disabilities. The focus is on text simplification, sign language translation, sign language assessment, audio description and spoken subtitles.
For example, one of the subprojects deals with a mobile application that can translate sign language into speech and vice versa in real time. Thanks to the research conducted at the Department of Computational Linguistics, a translation system could simultaneously interpret TV programs and films into sign language. For more details, see the article on UZH News:
Speaking with Signs
Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies

Project ZuReach

ZuReach is a participatory research project to improve urban accessibility for people with mobility restrictions. It aims to provide a scalable, regularly updated database with detailed sidewalk accessibility data for Zurich. The initiative also plays a pivotal role in advancing digital tools to identify and remove urban barriers, offering practical solutions with social, scientific, and political impact. ZuReach builds on the participatory ZuriACT project, which collected sidewalk data in Zurich’s District 1 (April 2023–May 2024) and won the Swiss Smart City Hub Award 2024 in the Citizen Services category.
Project ZuReach

Swiss Disability Research

The Swiss Disability Research (SDR) is a research and exchange platform focusing on people with impairments and chronic diseases. The network promotes dialogue between science and practice and conducts studies and research projects with and for people with disabilities. It collaborates with other organizations for people with impairments and chronic diseases, organizes conferences and workshops, and contributes to education and training.
Swiss Disability Research