James Coughlan

James Coughlan, principal investigator for the NSF grant on assistive technology for the visually impaired, smiling outdoors in a blue shirt.

Senior Scientist

Director: Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center

Ph.D.

The goal of our laboratory is to develop and test assistive technology for blind and visually impaired persons that is enabled by computer vision and other sensor technologies.

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Coughlan Lab
Contact Information:

Email: coughlan@ski.org

Office Phone: (415) 345-2146


2318 Fillmore Street

San Francisco, CA 94115

Links:
Link to Google Scholar

Publications

Navigation graph illustrating blind travelers' navigation paths and current target indicator, featuring nodes (n1 to n5) and associated navigation aids (NA(e1) to NA(e5)).

S. Mascetti, Dr. Ahmetovic, G. Galimberti and J. Coughlan. “NavGraph: Enhancing Blind Travelers’ Navigation Experience and Safety.” Proc. ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies (IMWUT), Volume 9, Issue 3, Article No.: 117, Pages 1 – 27. 2025.

Bar chart displaying accessibility attainment percentages for various web map tools, including Google Maps, Bing Maps, and Audiom, relevant to assistive technology research for visually impaired users.

Biggs, B. ., Coughlan, J. ., & Walker, B. (2025). Systematically Evaluating Digital Map Tools Based on the WCAG. Journal on Technology and Persons With Disabilities, 13.

Hand pointing at tactile map of 20 W 34th St. with Braille labels and an audio device for interactive navigation.

Manzoni, M. ., Mascetti, S. ., Ahmetovic, D. ., Crabb, R. ., & Coughlan, J. . (2025). MapIO: a Gestural and Conversational Interface for Tactile Maps. IEEE Access.

Map of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. by state and territory as of June 11, 2020, displaying varying shades of red to indicate case numbers, with specific figures for each state.

Biggs, B. ., Agbaroji, H. ., Toth, C. ., Stockman, T. ., Coughlan, J. ., & Walker, B. . (2024). Co-Designing Auditory Navigation Solutions for Traveling as a Blind Individual During The COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Blindness Innovation and Research, 14(1). (Original work published 2024)

Map illustrating a navigation route with colored arrows indicating direction and waypoints, relevant to Seyed Cheraghi's research on aiding blind and visually impaired travelers.

Crabb, R. ., Cheraghi, S. A., & Coughlan, J. . (2023). A Lightweight Approach to Localization for Blind and Visually Impaired Travelers. Sensors, 23(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/s23052701 (Original work published 2023)

Logo featuring the letters "Y" and "D" in purple and dark blue, representing the "You Described" project related to audio description datasets.

Pitcher-Cooper, C. ., Seth, M. ., Kao, B. ., Coughlan, J. ., & Yoon, I. . (2023). You Described, We Archived: A Rich Audio Description Dataset. Journal on Technology and Persons With Disabilities, 11. (Original work published 2023)

Crosswalk scene featuring a pedestrian signal indicating "walk," highlighting urban navigation and accessibility in the context of eye research and visual perception studies.

Hong, J. ., & Coughlan, J. . (2023). VR Training to Facilitate Blind Photography for Navigation. Journal On Technology And Persons With Disabilities. (Original work published 2023)

Biggs, B. ., Pitcher-Cooper, C. ., & Coughlan, J. . (2022). Getting in Touch with Tactile Map Automated Production: Evaluating Impact and Areas for Improvement.Journal on Technology and Persons With Disabilities, 10. (Original work published 2022)

Logo of the MacKeben Lab, featuring a stylized eye design in blue, representing vision research related to eye movement training and gaze strategies.

Tekin, E. ., Vásquez, D. ., & Coughlan, J. . (2013). S-K Smartphone Barcode Reader for the Blind. Journal on Technology and Persons With Disabilities, 1.

Logo of the MacKeben Lab, featuring a stylized eye design in blue, representing vision research related to eye movement training and gaze strategies.

Tekin, E. ., Coughlan, J. ., & Simon, H. J. (2013). Improving speech enhancement algorithms by incorporating visual information. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 134, 4237–4237.

Logo of the MacKeben Lab, featuring a stylized eye design in blue, representing vision research related to eye movement training and gaze strategies.

Coughlan, J. ., & Shen, H. . (2013). Crosswatch: a system for providing guidance to visually impaired travelers at traffic intersections. Journal of Assistive Technologies, 7.

Logo of the MacKeben Lab, featuring a stylized eye design in blue, representing vision research related to eye movement training and gaze strategies.

Manduchi, R. ., & Coughlan, J. . (2012). (Computer) vision without sight. Communications of the ACM, 55, 96–104.

Hand pointing at a drawing of an airplane wing, with highlighted features in green, illustrating tactile graphics for educational purposes related to Khadija Ezrouri's research on accessibility in visual materials.

Ahmetovic, D., Coughlan, J., Dal Santo, G., Ezrouri, K., Manzoni, M., & Mascetti, S. (2025). CamIO in the Browser: A Cross-Platform Audio Label Tool for Tactile Graphics. MobileHCI 2025

Hong, J. ., & Coughlan, J. . (2024). Enhancing Walk-Light Detector Usage for the Visually Impaired: A Comparison of VR Exploration and Verbal Instructions. Web4All 2024. Presented at the Web4All 2024. Singapore. (Original work published 2024)

Interactive 3D tactile map of a playground with raised structures and QR code markers, hand pointing at a feature, illustrating non-visual access for spatial learning.

Coughlan, J. ., Biggs, B. ., & Shen, H. . (2022). Non-Visual Access to an Interactive 3D Map. Joint International Conference on Digital Inclusion, Assistive Technology & Accessibility (ICCHP-AAATE ’22). Presented at the Joint International Conference on Digital Inclusion, Assistive Technology & Accessibility (ICCHP-AAATE ’22). (Original work published 2022)

White headphones resting next to a Samsung smartphone displaying a forest wallpaper, illustrating auditory technology in the context of publications on auditory navigation for blind individuals.

Biggs, B. ., Toth, C. ., Stockman, T. ., Coughlan, J. ., & Walker, B. N. (2022). Evaluation of a Non-Visual Auditory Choropleth and Travel Map Viewer. International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD) 2022. Presented at the International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD) 2022. Virtual. Retrieved from PMCID: PMC10010675 (Original work published 2022)

3D tactile model of a landscape with various structures and trees, used for research on vision and spatial awareness, featuring QR code markers for interactive elements.

Coughlan, J. ., Biggs, B. ., & Shen, H. . (2021). Point and Listen: Bringing a 3D Map to Life with Audio-Based AR. 6th Annual Frameless XR Symposium. Presented at the 6th Annual Frameless XR Symposium. (Original work published 2021)

Biggs, B. ., Coughlan, J. ., & Coppin, P. . (2021). Design and evaluation of an interactive 3D map. RESNA 2021 Conference. Presented at the RESNA 2021 Conference. (Original work published 2021)

Indoor navigation diagram illustrating a wayfinding system with marked paths, elevator location, and coordinate points (x,y) and (x',y').

Fusco, G. ., Cheraghi, S. A., Neat, L. ., & Coughlan, J. . (2020). An Indoor Navigation App using Computer Vision and Sign Recognition. 17th International Conference on Computers Helping People With Special Needs. Presented at the 17th International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs. (Original work published 2020)

Hand holding a measuring tool over a toy fire truck labeled "RESCUE," positioned on a patterned sheet with QR codes, illustrating a potential application in research related to navigation or assistive technologies.

Coughlan, J. ., Biggs, B. ., Rivière, M.-A. ., & Shen, H. . (2020). An Audio-Based 3D Spatial Guidance AR System for Blind Users. 17th International Conference on Computers Helping People With Special Needs. Presented at the 17th International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs. (Original work published 2020)

Biggs, B. ., Coughlan, J. ., & Coppin, P. . (2019). Design and Evaluation of an Audio Game-Inspired Auditory Map Interface. The 25th International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD 2019). Presented at the The 25th International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD 2019). Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK. (Original work published 2019)

Fusco, G. ., & Coughlan, J. . (2018). Indoor Localization using Computer Vision and Visual-Inertial Odometry. International Conference on Computers Helping People With Special Needs (ICCHP ’18). Presented at the International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs (ICCHP ’18). Linz, Austria. (Original work published 2018)

Fusco, G. ., Tekin, E. ., Ladner, R. E., & Coughlan, J. . (2014). Using Computer Vision to Access Appliance Displays. ASSETS. Presented at the ASSETS. (Original work published 2014)

Manduchi, R. ., & Coughlan, J. . (2014). The last meter: blind visual guidance to a target. Proceedings of the 32nd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 3113–3122. ACM.

Meta Ray-Ban WhatsApp video call setup with dual display windows for client application, screen capture, and frame resizing for streaming.

Zaman, N., Potluri, V., Biggs, B., & Coughlan, M. J. (2025). WhatsAI: Transforming Meta Ray-Bans into an Extensible Generative AI Platform for Accessibility. arXiv preprint arXiv:2505.09823.

Fusco, G. ., Tekin, E. ., & Coughlan, J. . (2016). Sign Finder Application – Technical Report.

Coughlan, J. ., & Manduchi, R. . (2013). Camera-based access to visual information. In Assistive technology for blindness and low vision (pp. 219–246).

Tekin, E. ., & Coughlan, J. . (2012). BLaDE: Barcode localization and decoding engine.

Coughlan, J. . (2012). Markov random fields and techniques for performing inference with them.

Shen, H. ., & Coughlan, J. . (2012). Towards a real-time system for finding and reading signs for visually impaired users. In Computers Helping People with Special Needs (pp. 41–47). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. (Original work published 2012)

Coughlan, J. . (2011). Mechanisms for propagating surface information in 3-D reconstruction. In C. W. Tyler (Ed.), Computer Vision: From Surfaces to 3D Objects. Chapman and Hall/CRC Press.

Tekin, E. ., & Coughlan, J. . (2010). A mobile phone application enabling visually impaired users to find and read product barcodes. Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

Coughlan, J. . (2010). Maximum Entropy Distributions and Their Relationship to Maximum Likelihood.

Coughlan, J. . (2009). Basic 3D Geometry for One and Two Cameras.

Coughlan, J. . (2009). A Tutorial Introduction to Belief Propagation.

Ivanchenko, V. ., Coughlan, J. ., & Shen, H. . (2008). Crosswatch: a camera phone system for orienting visually impaired pedestrians at traffic intersections. Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

Projects

Labs

  • Coughlan Lab
    Coughlan Lab
    Principal Investigator:
    The goal of our laboratory is to develop and test assistive technology for blind and visually impaired persons that is enabled by computer vision and other sensor technologies.
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