Toward accessible 3D virtual environments for the blind and visually impaired

3D virtual environments are increasingly used for education, business and recreation but are often inaccessible to users who are visually impaired, effectively creating a digital divide. Interviews with 8 visually impaired expert users were conducted to guide design proposals, and a review of current research into haptics and 3D sound for auditory displays is presented with suggestions for navigation and feedback techniques to address these accessibility issues. The diversity and volatility of the environment makes Second Life an unusually complex research object, suggesting the applicability of our work for the field of HCI and accessibility in 3D virtual environments. Categories and Subject Descriptors K.4.2 [COMPUTERS AND SOCIETY]: Social Issues-Assistive technologies for persons with disabilities; H.5.2 [INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (e.g., HCI)]: User Interfaces--Auditory (nonspeech) feedback, Haptic I/O, User-centered design; H.5.1 [INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTAT...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: DIMEA
• Authors: Gareth R. White, Geraldine Fitzpatrick, Graham McAllister
• Keywords: DIMEA 2008, Interfaces And Presentation, Multimedia, Virtual Environment, Visually Impaired