VR Blindness - Oculus
This is one of my research and development projects
Context
Wayfinding and signage are essential components of urban design, wayfinding strategies is influenced by the human experience and intrinsic needs of each user.
Currently there are more than 500,000 people are blind or vision impaired in Australia with estimates that this will rise to 564,000 by 2030. A well-designed wayfinding and navigation system for public transport enables Australian who are blind or vision impaired can live rich active, meaningful life, and contribute to society.
Design wayfinding for people with visual impaired is challenging. How can designers ascertain the most effective wayfinding techniques if they have not experienced blindness or visual impairment themselves?
Solution
Virtual Reality (VR) is the best technology to simulate blindness and visual impairments. Utilizing VR to learn how individuals with blindness interact with new wayfinding designs can aid designer in testing their design and address the spatial problems on specific contexts , within a scale of a room.
Case study
Route 96 stands as Melbourne's the most frequented tram pathway. The objective behind the upgrade of tram stop 12 by Public Transport Victoria is to guarantee accessibility for all passengers, "including people who are vision impaired or using wheelchairs, prams and other mobility aids, to get on and off the tram safely and easily." Public Transport Victoria (2020, January5).
Selecting tram stop 12 as a case study provides a contextual foundation for the development of a virtual reality simulation aimed at simulating blindness.
Understanding blindness
"When most sighted people think “blindness,” they think of a world in total blackness" (Kleck, H, 2023, October 16) . However, this perception is significantly misleading. Various eye ailments, genetic anomalies, congenital conditions, as well as the natural aging process or experiencing an injury, can disrupt normal vision. Moreover, these visual impairments manifest in diverse forms and presentations.
In this simulation, 4 main blindness are selected to demonstrate the capability of Virtual Reality, macular degeneration, glaucoma, blindness, diabetic retinopathy.
Digital White Cane
The white cane serves as a crucial aid for people who are blind or have low vision, enabling them to archive independence and navigate their surrounding with mobility.
Holding white canes' handle, " is made of leather, plastic, rubber or other materials that easily transmit the tactile information to user's hand" (Albert M. Cook, 2015).
Digital white cane set up in Unreal - VR
The question is, how we can translate the tactile wand auditory sense of the surface texture into virtual world. Oculus Quest 2 integrate haptic actuators - vibrating motors - that can pulse or buzz to provide haptic feedback for user.
In this simulation, the primary focus lies in experiencing tactile surfaces. We emphasize two main types of directional tactile, utilizing user interfaces (UI) to visually depict distinct experiences when players interact with digitally designed surfaces. The advantage of blind simulation lies in its ability to assist urban designers and civil engineers in testing wayfinding techniques, particularly for individuals with visual impairments.
Sound Scape
"Hearing can compensate for the absence of vision by providing inputs for spatial perception in the near and far space it covers a larger spatial field compared to other senses and by using allocentric perception of the surrounding space rather than egocentric..." (M Gori, 2017)
Spatial audio in VR adds the immersion of experience by simulating how people hear sounds in real life... 3D sound simulation means sounds can come from above, below, behind and in front of or beside the listeners, very different from traditional stereo audio, which can only convey left and right directions.
To apply the importance of hearing in this simulation, the soundscape was designed and attach to virtual objects, both static and dynamic objects.
Conclusion
This prototype demonstrates the potential of Virtual Reality. With VR, engineers and users can gain insights into the challenges faced by individuals with visual impairments, facilitating the testing of designs and fostering empathy-driven problem-solving. It is hoped that such simulations can find application in public transport and wayfinding solutions.
Utilizing Virtual Reality within Unreal Engine 5 has proven highly effective, offering exceptional high-definition rendering capabilities and developer-friendly tools such as Blueprints. This prototype represents a source of pride for me, as it not only challenged my technical skills but also provided a meaningful simulation experience.
Behind the Scene
Citation
Public Transport Victoria. (2020, January 5). Route 96 upgrade - Public Transport Victoria. https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/footer/about-ptv/improvements-and-projects/tram/route-96-upgrade/
Kleck, H., & Kleck, H. (2023, October 16). What blindness really looks like. Perkins School for the Blind. https://www.perkins.org/what-blindness-really-looks-like/
Cook, A. M., Polgar, J. M., & Encarnação, P. (2015). Sensory Aids for Persons with Visual Impairments. In Elsevier eBooks (pp. 314–351). https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-323-09631-7.00013-2
Gori M, Cappagli G, Baud-Bovy G, Finocchietti S. Shape Perception and Navigation in Blind Adults. Front Psychol. 2017 Jan 17;8:10. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00010. Erratum in: Front Psychol. 2017 Jun 12;8:882. PMID: 28144226; PMCID: PMC5240028.
