1,083 research outputs found
A Systematic Review of Extended Reality (XR) for Understanding and Augmenting Vision Loss
Over the past decade, extended reality (XR) has emerged as an assistive
technology not only to augment residual vision of people losing their sight but
also to study the rudimentary vision restored to blind people by a visual
neuroprosthesis. To make the best use of these emerging technologies, it is
valuable and timely to understand the state of this research and identify any
shortcomings that are present. Here we present a systematic literature review
of 227 publications from 106 different venues assessing the potential of XR
technology to further visual accessibility. In contrast to other reviews, we
sample studies from multiple scientific disciplines, focus on augmentation of a
person's residual vision, and require studies to feature a quantitative
evaluation with appropriate end users. We summarize prominent findings from
different XR research areas, show how the landscape has changed over the last
decade, and identify scientific gaps in the literature. Specifically, we
highlight the need for real-world validation, the broadening of end-user
participation, and a more nuanced understanding of the suitability and
usability of different XR-based accessibility aids. By broadening end-user
participation to early stages of the design process and shifting the focus from
behavioral performance to qualitative assessments of usability, future research
has the potential to develop XR technologies that may not only allow for
studying vision loss, but also enable novel visual accessibility aids with the
potential to impact the lives of millions of people living with vision loss
Pedestrian Detection with Wearable Cameras for the Blind: A Two-way Perspective
Blind people have limited access to information about their surroundings,
which is important for ensuring one's safety, managing social interactions, and
identifying approaching pedestrians. With advances in computer vision, wearable
cameras can provide equitable access to such information. However, the
always-on nature of these assistive technologies poses privacy concerns for
parties that may get recorded. We explore this tension from both perspectives,
those of sighted passersby and blind users, taking into account camera
visibility, in-person versus remote experience, and extracted visual
information. We conduct two studies: an online survey with MTurkers (N=206) and
an in-person experience study between pairs of blind (N=10) and sighted (N=40)
participants, where blind participants wear a working prototype for pedestrian
detection and pass by sighted participants. Our results suggest that both of
the perspectives of users and bystanders and the several factors mentioned
above need to be carefully considered to mitigate potential social tensions.Comment: The 2020 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
(CHI 2020
Auxilio: A Sensor-Based Wireless Head-Mounted Mouse for People with Upper Limb Disability
Upper limb disability may be caused either due to accidents, neurological
disorders, or even birth defects, imposing limitations and restrictions on the
interaction with a computer for the concerned individuals using a generic
optical mouse. Our work proposes the design and development of a working
prototype of a sensor-based wireless head-mounted Assistive Mouse Controller
(AMC), Auxilio, facilitating interaction with a computer for people with upper
limb disability. Combining commercially available, low-cost motion and infrared
sensors, Auxilio solely utilizes head and cheek movements for mouse control.
Its performance has been juxtaposed with that of a generic optical mouse in
different pointing tasks as well as in typing tasks, using a virtual keyboard.
Furthermore, our work also analyzes the usability of Auxilio, featuring the
System Usability Scale. The results of different experiments reveal the
practicality and effectiveness of Auxilio as a head-mounted AMC for empowering
the upper limb disabled community.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figures, 5 table
Computational Personalization through Physical and Aesthetic Featured Digital Fabrication
Thesis (Master of Science in Informatics)--University of Tsukuba, no. 41269, 2019.3.2
Towards Accessible News Reading Design in Virtual Reality for Low Vision
International audienceLow-vision conditions resulting in partial loss of the central visual field strongly affect patients' daily tasks and routines, and none more prominently than the ability to access text. Though vision aids such as magnifiers, digital screens, and text-to-speech devices can improve overall accessibility to text, news media, which is non-linear and has complex and volatile formatting, is still inaccessible, barring low-vision patients from easy access to essential news content. This position paper proposes virtual reality as a promising solution towards accessible and enjoyable news reading for low vision. We first provide an extensive review into existing research on low-vision reading technologies and visual accessibility solutions for modern news media. From previous research and studies, we then conduct an analysis into the advantages of virtual reality for low-vision reading and propose comprehensive guidelines for visual accessibility design in virtual reality, with a focus on reading. This is coupled with a hands-on survey of eight reading applications in virtual reality to evaluate how accessibility design is currently implemented in existing products. Finally, we present an open toolbox using browser-based graphics (WebGL) that implements the design principles from our study. A proof-of-concept is created using this toolbox to demonstrate the feasibility of our proposal with modern virtual reality technology
Vers une conception accessible de la lecture d'actualités en réalité virtuelle pour la basse vision
Low-vision conditions resulting in partial loss of the visual field strongly affect patients' daily tasks and routines, and none more prominently than the ability to access text. Though vision aids such as magnifiers, digital screens, and text-to-speech devices can improve overall accessibility to text, news media, which is non-linear and has complex and volatile formatting, is still inaccessible, barring low-vision patients from easy access to essential news content. This paper positions virtual reality as the next step towards accessible and enjoyable news reading for the low vision. We first conduct an extensive review into existing research on low-vision reading technologies and accessibility for modern news media. From previous research and studies, we then conduct an analysis into the advantages of virtual reality for low-vision reading and propose comprehensive guidelines for visual accessibility design in virtual reality, with a focus on reading. This is coupled with a hands-on study of eight reading applications in virtual reality to evaluate how accessibility design is currently implemented in existing products. Finally, we present a framework that integrates the design principles resulting from our analysis and study, and implement a proof-of-concept for this framework using browser-based graphics to demonstrate the feasibility of our proposal with modern virtual reality technology.Les conditions de basse vision entraĂźnant une perte partielle du champ visuel affectent fortement les tĂąches et les routines quotidiennes des patients, et aucune de celles-ci n'est plus notable que la possibilitĂ© d'accĂ©der Ă du texte. Bien que les aides visuelles telles que les loupes, les Ă©crans numĂ©riques et les dispositifs de synthĂšse vocale puissent amĂ©liorer lâaccessibilitĂ© globale au texte, les mĂ©dias dâinformation, qui sont non linĂ©aires et prĂ©sentent un formatage complexe et volatile, sont toujours inaccessibles, empĂȘchant ainsi les patients malvoyants dâavoir accĂšs aux contenus des nouvelles.Ce papier positionne la rĂ©alitĂ© virtuelle comme la prochaine Ă©tape vers une lecture de nouvelles pour la basse vision, qui soit accessible et agrĂ©able. Nous menons dâabord une Ă©tude approfondie des recherches existantes sur les technologies de lecture en basse vision et lâaccessibilitĂ© des mĂ©dias dâinformation modernes. Ă partir de recherches et dâĂ©tudes antĂ©rieures, nous analysons ensuite les avantages de la rĂ©alitĂ© virtuelle pour la lecture en basse vision et proposons des directives globales pour la conception de lâaccessibilitĂ© visuelle en rĂ©alitĂ© virtuelle, en mettant lâaccent sur la lecture. Ceci est associĂ© Ă une Ă©tude pratique de huit applications de lecture en rĂ©alitĂ© virtuelle pour Ă©valuer comment cette conception de l'accessibilitĂ© est actuellement mise en Ćuvre dans les produits existants. Enfin, nous prĂ©sentons un cadre qui intĂšgre les principes de conception rĂ©sultant de nos analyses et Ă©tudes et nous implĂ©mentons une preuve de concept en utilisant des graphiques basĂ©s sur un navigateur afin de dĂ©montrer la faisabilitĂ© de notre proposition avec la technologie moderne de rĂ©alitĂ© virtuelle
Head-mounted displays and dynamic text presentation to aid reading in macular disease
The majority of individuals living with significant sight loss have residual vision which can be enhanced using low vision aids. Smart glasses and smartphone-based headsets, both increasing in prevalence, are proposed as a low vision aid platform. Three novel tests for measuring the visibility of displays to partially sighted users are described, along with a questionnaire for assessing subjective preference. Most individuals tested, save those with the weakest vision, were able to see and read from both a smart glasses screen and a smartphone screen mounted in a headset. The scheme for biomimetic scrolling, a text presentation strategy which translates natural eye movement into text movement, is described. It is found to enable the normally sighted to read at a rate five times that of continuous scrolling and is faster than rapid serial visual presentation for individuals with macular disease. With text presentation on the smart glasses optimised to the user, individuals with macular disease read on average 65% faster than when using their habitual optical aid. It is concluded that this aid demonstrates clear benefit over the commonly used devices and is thus recommended for further development towards widespread availability
AdaptiX -- A Transitional XR Framework for Development and Evaluation of Shared Control Applications in Assistive Robotics
With the ongoing efforts to empower people with mobility impairments and the
increase in technological acceptance by the general public, assistive
technologies, such as collaborative robotic arms, are gaining popularity. Yet,
their widespread success is limited by usability issues, specifically the
disparity between user input and software control along the autonomy continuum.
To address this, shared control concepts provide opportunities to combine the
targeted increase of user autonomy with a certain level of computer assistance.
This paper presents the free and open-source AdaptiX XR framework for
developing and evaluating shared control applications in a high-resolution
simulation environment. The initial framework consists of a simulated robotic
arm with an example scenario in Virtual Reality (VR), multiple standard control
interfaces, and a specialized recording/replay system. AdaptiX can easily be
extended for specific research needs, allowing Human-Robot Interaction (HRI)
researchers to rapidly design and test novel interaction methods, intervention
strategies, and multi-modal feedback techniques, without requiring an actual
physical robotic arm during the early phases of ideation, prototyping, and
evaluation. Also, a Robot Operating System (ROS) integration enables the
controlling of a real robotic arm in a PhysicalTwin approach without any
simulation-reality gap. Here, we review the capabilities and limitations of
AdaptiX in detail and present three bodies of research based on the framework.
AdaptiX can be accessed at https://adaptix.robot-research.de.Comment: Accepted submission at The 16th ACM SIGCHI Symposium on Engineering
Interactive Computing Systems (EICS'24
HABITAT: An IoT Solution for Independent Elderly
In this work, a flexible and extensive digital platform for Smart Homes is presented, exploiting the most advanced technologies of the Internet of Things, such as Radio Frequency Identification, wearable electronics, Wireless Sensor Networks, and Artificial Intelligence. Thus, the main novelty of the paper is the system-level description of the platform flexibility allowing the interoperability of different smart devices. This research was developed within the framework of the operative project HABITAT (Home Assistance Based on the Internet of Things for the Autonomy of Everybody), aiming at developing smart devices to support elderly people both in their own houses and in retirement homes, and embedding them in everyday life objects, thus reducing the expenses for healthcare due to the lower need for personal assistance, and providing a better life quality to the elderly users
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