Integration of Assistive Technologies into 3D Simulations: Exploratory Studies

Virtual worlds and environments have many purposes, ranging from games to scientific research. However, universal accessibility features in such virtual environments are limited. As the impairment prevalence rate increases yearly, so does the research interests in the field of assistive technologies. This work introduces research in assistive technologies and presents three software developments that explore the integration of assistive technologies within virtual environments, with a strong focus on Brain-Computer Interfaces. An accessible gaming system, a hands-free navigation software system, and a Brain-Computer Interaction plugin have been developed to study the capabilities of accessibility features within virtual 3D environments. Details of the specification, design, and implementation of these software applications are presented in the thesis. Observations and preliminary results as well as directions of future work are also included

Games technology: console architectures, game engines and invisible interaction

This presentation will look at three core developments in games technology. First we will look at the architectural foundations on which the consoles are built to deliver games performance. Millions of consoles are sold and the console performance is improving in parallel. Next we look at the cutting edge features available in game engines. Middleware software, namely game engines, help developers build games with rich features and also simultaneously harness the power of the game consoles to satisfy gamers. The third part focuses on Invisible Game Interaction. The Nintendo Wii games console was an instant success because of the Wiimote. Old and young alike embraced it. The Microsoft Kinect pushed the boundary even further, where the interaction device is slowly becoming invisible and the human body becomes the interface. Finally, we look at novel research developments that go beyond current game interaction devices

A Utility Framework for Selecting Immersive Interactive Capability and Technology for Virtual Laboratories

There has been an increase in the use of virtual reality (VR) technology in the education community since VR is emerging as a potent educational tool that offers students with a rich source of educational material and makes learning exciting and interactive. With a rise of popularity and market expansion in VR technology in the past few years, a variety of consumer VR electronics have boosted educators and researchers’ interest in using these devices for practicing engineering and science laboratory experiments. However, little is known about how such devices may be well-suited for active learning in a laboratory environment. This research aims to address this gap by formulating a utility framework to help educators and decision-makers efficiently select a type of VR device that matches with their design and capability requirements for their virtual laboratory blueprint. Furthermore, a framework use case is demonstrated by not only surveying five types of VR devices ranging from low-immersive to full-immersive along with their capabilities (i.e., hardware specifications, cost, and availability) but also considering the interaction techniques in each VR device based on the desired laboratory task. To validate the framework, a research study is carried out to compare these five VR devices and investigate which device can provide an overall best-fit for a 3D virtual laboratory content that we implemented based on the interaction level, usability and performance effectiveness

Accessibility in PC Action/Adventure Games

Segons la Convenció sobre els Drets de les Persones amb Discapacitat, les Tecnologies de la Informació i la Comunicació han de ser accessibles. Per això, l'objectiu de l'estudi és avaluar el grau d'accessibilitat de 50 jocs d'acció/aventura per a PC publicats en els últims 10 anys (2010-2022). Per aconseguir-ho, es va crear una llista de comprovació d'opcions d'accessibilitat en conformitat a les normes, lleis i recomanacions, com les directrius per a videojocs i l'estàndard EN 301 549. El jocs es van seleccionar segons la disponibilitat, franquícies amb diversos títols i popularitat. Cada títol es va avaluar per comprovar si es complien les directrius. Es va calcular un percentatge a partir de la divisió del nombre de directrius d'accessibilitat presents entre les directrius possibles i aplicables. Els resultats revelen que el 44% dels jocs segueixen directrius d'accessibilitat, el 81% inclou directrius per a persones amb discapacitats cognitives, el 44% per a motores i de la parla, el 38% per a les auditives i el 25% per a les visuals. Els jocs examinats no són totalment accessibles, però la majoria compleix amb les directrius cognitives i els nivells bàsics d'accessibilitat. Futures vies d'investigació inclouen avaluacions d'accessibilitat multiplataforma de diferents gèneres i estudis.Según la Convención Internacional sobre los Derechos de las Personas con Discapacidad, las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones deben ser accesibles. Por ello, el objetivo del estudio fue descubrir el grado de accesibilidad de cincuenta juegos de acción/aventura para PC publicados en los últimos doce años (2010-2022). Para lograrlo, se creó una lista de comprobación de opciones y características conforme a las directrices para videojuegos, leyes y normas vigentes, como EN 301 549 en Europa. Los juegos se seleccionaron según la disponibilidad, franquicias con varios títulos y grado de popularidad. Cada título se evaluó para comprobar si se cumplían las directrices vigentes. Se obtuvo un porcentaje de accesibilidad al dividir el número de directrices disponibles entre las posibles y aplicables a cada título. Los resultados revelan que el 44% de los juegos siguen directrices, el 81% incluyen pautas para personas con discapacidades cognitivas, el 44% para las motoras y del habla, el 38% para las auditivas y el 25% para las visuales. Los juegos examinados no son totalmente accesibles, pero la mayoría cumple con directrices de accesibilidad cognitivas y niveles básicos de accesibilidad. Futuras vías de investigación incluyen evaluaciones de accesibilidad multiplataforma de diferentes géneros y estudios.According to the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) must be accessible. For this reason, the objective of this study was to discover the accessibility level of fifty PC action/adventure games released in the last twelve years (2010-2022). To this aim, a checklist of options and features following current guidelines (Game Accessibility Guidelines (GAG) and Xbox Guidelines), laws (Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 from the United States), and standards (European EN 301 549) was created. The games were selected based on availability, iterations, and popularity. They were reviewed and played to verify if the accessibility features were available. An accessibility percentage was obtained by dividing the number of present GAG by the number of possible GAG applicable to each title. The results revealed that 44% of the titles follow guidelines, 81% include guidelines for people with cognitive disabilities, 44% for motor and speech disabilities, 38% for auditory, and 25% for visual. The examined games are not entirely accessible, but most comply with guidelines addressing the needs of people with cognitive disabilities and basic accessibility levels. Further research lines include multiplatform accessibility assessments from different genres, publishers, and studios

Exploring and interrogating astrophysical data in virtual reality

Scientists across all disciplines increasingly rely on machine learning algorithms to analyse and sort datasets of ever increasing volume and complexity. Although trends and outliers are easily extracted, careful and close inspection will still be necessary to explore and disentangle detailed behaviour, as well as identify systematics and false positives. We must therefore incorporate new technologies to facilitate scientific analysis and exploration. Astrophysical data is inherently multi-parameter, with the spatial-kinematic dimensions at the core of observations and simulations. The arrival of mainstream virtual-reality (VR) headsets and increased GPU power, as well as the availability of versatile development tools for video games, has enabled scientists to deploy such technology to effectively interrogate and interact with complex data. In this paper we present development and results from custom-built interactive VR tools, called the iDaVIE suite, that are informed and driven by research on galaxy evolution, cosmic large-scale structure, galaxy–galaxy interactions, and gas/kinematics of nearby galaxies in survey and targeted observations. In the new era of Big Data ushered in by major facilities such as the SKA and LSST that render past analysis and refinement methods highly constrained, we believe that a paradigm shift to new software, technology and methods that exploit the power of visual perception, will play an increasingly important role in bridging the gap between statistical metrics and new discovery. We have released a beta version of the iDaVIE software system that is free and open to the community

ACCESSIBILITY IN CONTEXT: UNDERSTANDING THE TRULY MOBILE EXPERIENCE OF USERS WITH MOTOR IMPAIRMENTS

Touchscreen smartphones are becoming broadly adopted by the US population. Ensuring that these devices are accessible for people with disabilities is critical for equal access. For people with motor impairments, the vast majority of studies on touchscreen mobile accessibility have taken place in the laboratory. These studies show that while touchscreen input offers advantages, such as requiring less strength than physical buttons, it also presents accessibility challenges, such as the difficulty of tapping on small targets or making multitouch gestures. However, because of the focus on controlled lab settings, past work does not provide an understanding of contextual factors that impact smartphone use in everyday life, and the activities these devices enable for people with motor impairments. To investigate these issues, this thesis research includes two studies, first, an in-person study with four participants with motor impairments that included diary entries and an observational session, and, secondarily, an online survey with nine respondents. Using case study analysis for the in-person participants, we found that mobile devices have the potential to help motor-impaired users reduce the physical effort required for everyday tasks (e.g., turning on a TV, checking transit accessibility in advance), that challenges in touchscreen input still exist, and that the impact of situational impairments to this population can be impeding. The online survey results confirm these findings, for example, highlighting the difficulty of text input, particularly when users are out and mobile rather than at home. Based on these findings, future research should focus on the enhancement of current touchscreen input, exploring the potential of wearable devices for mobile accessibility, and designing more applications and services to improve access to physical world

An investigation into gaze-based interaction techniques for people with motor impairments

The use of eye movements to interact with computers offers opportunities for people with impaired motor ability to overcome the difficulties they often face using hand-held input devices. Computer games have become a major form of entertainment, and also provide opportunities for social interaction in multi-player environments. Games are also being used increasingly in education to motivate and engage young people. It is important that young people with motor impairments are able to benefit from, and enjoy, them. This thesis describes a program of research conducted over a 20-year period starting in the early 1990's that has investigated interaction techniques based on gaze position intended for use by people with motor impairments. The work investigates how to make standard software applications accessible by gaze, so that no particular modification to the application is needed. The work divides into 3 phases. In the first phase, ways of using gaze to interact with the graphical user interfaces of office applications were investigated, designed around the limitations of gaze interaction. Of these, overcoming the inherent inaccuracies of pointing by gaze at on-screen targets was particularly important. In the second phase, the focus shifted from office applications towards immersive games and on-line virtual worlds. Different means of using gaze position and patterns of eye movements, or gaze gestures, to issue commands were studied. Most of the testing and evaluation studies in this, like the first, used participants without motor-impairments. The third phase of the work then studied the applicability of the research findings thus far to groups of people with motor impairments, and in particular,the means of adapting the interaction techniques to individual abilities. In summary, the research has shown that collections of specialised gaze-based interaction techniques can be built as an effective means of completing the tasks in specific types of games and how these can be adapted to the differing abilities of individuals with motor impairments

Virtual Reality Games for Motor Rehabilitation

This paper presents a fuzzy logic based method to track user satisfaction without the need for devices to monitor users physiological conditions. User satisfaction is the key to any product’s acceptance; computer applications and video games provide a unique opportunity to provide a tailored environment for each user to better suit their needs. We have implemented a non-adaptive fuzzy logic model of emotion, based on the emotional component of the Fuzzy Logic Adaptive Model of Emotion (FLAME) proposed by El-Nasr, to estimate player emotion in UnrealTournament 2004. In this paper we describe the implementation of this system and present the results of one of several play tests. Our research contradicts the current literature that suggests physiological measurements are needed. We show that it is possible to use a software only method to estimate user emotion