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I see therefore i read: improving the reading capabilities of individuals with visual disabilities through immersive virtual reality

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Abstract

We aim to help improve the quality of life of people with visual disabilities through the application of emerging technologies. Our current research investigates the viability of virtual reality (VR) as an aid for persons with visual disabilities. In this article, we explore the potential of VR-assisted reading. We investigate the reading effects of VR equipment on persons with visual disabilities by utilising variations of standardised optometry-informed reading tests conducted across 24 participants. Test results uncovered that, when comparing a worn VR head-mounted display (HMD) to physical unaided tests, results within a HMD scaled better at closer distances, while unaided tests scaled better with further distances. Using the findings collected and requirements elicited from participants, a prototype document reader was developed for reading text within a VR-immersed 3D environment, allowing low-vision users to customise and configure accessibility features for enhanced reading. This software was tested with 11 new participants alongside user evaluations, allowing us to discover how users perceived text best within our 3D virtual environments, and what features and techniques are required to evolve this accessibility tool further. The user test reported an overwhelmingly positive response to our tool as a feasible reading aid, allowing persons who could not engage (or, due to the difficulty, refusing to) in the reading of material to do so. We also register some limitations and areas for improvement, such as a need for non-functional requirements to be improved, and the aesthetics of our design to be improved going forward.

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Data Availability

Any data can be obtained through the University of Wolverhampton, Beacon Centre for the Blind, or through emailing the corresponding author.

Code availability

Source code of our prototype software is not available, but use of our test scenes can be requested. This work presents all testing variables and conditions to allow for reproduction.

Notes

  1. Due to confidentiality agreements we are not permitted to name or identify the companies by name or features. We can however disclose that the companies mentioned employ over 100,000 employees each and are related to the creation of hardware and software solutions.

  2. The participants in this test were not the same individuals used in the previous study

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Beacon Centre for the Blind for providing participants groups for each study. This work is funded by Beacon Centre for the Blind and the University of Wolverhampton.

Funding

This work is funded by the Beacon Centre for the Blind and the University of Wolverhampton.

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  1. University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, UK

    Kurtis Weir, Vinita Nahar, Amar Aggoun & Andrew Pollard

  2. Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

    Fernando Loizides

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  1. Kurtis Weir
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Weir, K., Loizides, F., Nahar, V. et al. I see therefore i read: improving the reading capabilities of individuals with visual disabilities through immersive virtual reality. Univ Access Inf Soc 22, 387–413 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-021-00854-8

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