AR? VR? MR? What now? Want to learn more about immersive technologies or extended reality (XR) but don’t know where to start? This workshop will demystify these technologies, explain their history, and demonstrate use cases across disciplines all while showing you the newest applications in a fun-hands-on experience for any level of expertise!
Join Studio X, UR’s hub for immersive technologies, and learn more about the digitalworld of extended reality (XR). All levels welcome. No experience necessary!
Instructor: Waleed Nadeem Where: Studio X, Carlson Library First Floor When: Wednesday, April 12th from 3:30 to 5pm Register: bit.ly/Intro2XR412
23 years ago, The Matrix introduced the idea of humanity living inside of a computer simulation. While moviegoers at the time wrote it off as a fictional piece of work, in the present day, we are much closer to that all-encompassing, technological world with the metaverse. Despite the promise of virtual worlds, there are still legal challenges and questions that echo those we face in the real world.
By way of this ontological thinking—that is, a metaverse is what we decide a metaverse is—we are introducing the concept of a “multiverse of metaverses.” Any single game or platform could be thought of as a metaverse. The move to name every virtual space a metaverse is in no small part due to companies attempting to utilize the buzzword to gain momentum for their products. While corporations have a long history of jumping on the bandwagon of the latest technical trend—think about the sheer number of apps generated in the last decade—the metaverse has the potential to shift in how we interact with technology. Take the digital economy, for example. Users can buy, sell, and create goods, and ideally, eventually be able to take virtual items from one platform to another. There are still challenges to this seamless virtual engagement: no singular company can solve the issue of interoperability, and collaboration often feels out of the question as it might be less profitable for companies to work together. Moreover, we are not at the level of computing to have “portals” from one metaverse to another. Technology development is not necessarily a linear progression like the development of the early internet. The existence of failed, and supposedly revolutionary, investments to further our “hybrid-verse,” [iii] such as the 3D TV, delivery drones, and Google glass is proof enough for companies to be wary.
In property law [iv], when referencing a physical piece of art, ownership is two-fold and can be attributed to the actual physical artwork. Depending on the terms of the sale, the buyer may/may not own the intellectual property of the artwork. With digital art, international law firm Reed Smith states that “ownership” in the metaverse—in this case, referring to the use of different platforms—“is nothing more than a form of licensing, or provision of services.” Here, true ownership lies with the owner, and the buyer cannot sell the item without permission from the true owner.
NFTs
Image via QuoteInspector.com
With the increased interest in the metaverse, we’re learning more about non-fungible tokens (NFTs) which seem to exist at the intersection of digital and physical property law arguments. An NFT can be an image, music, video, 3D objects, or other types of creative work. Because of their various forms, it’s difficult to determine if they count as regular pieces of digital art or something more. As individuals and companies continue to spend enormous sums to own “property” in the metaverse using NFTs, you begin to wonder what kinds of regulations are applicable to it. Can you apply land law? Can you have a mortgage? Can you sue others for damaging your property?
Data Protection
Internet Security Padlock for VPN & Online Privacy | Image via www.vpnsrus.com
In the same vein of the potential for personal grievances with extended reality (XR), there is also the issue of the general public’s data safety. With the continued modernization of daily life and companies’ compulsory desire to cater to the needs of their users (sometimes needs that the users themselves hadn’t even considered), new categories for personal data have come to fruition, namely facial expressions, gestures, and reactions. VR headsets collect large amounts of personal physical data from their users. With this expansion in data collection comes the fear of what could be lost during an inevitable cyberattack. Organizations and nations are not fully prepared to deal with the privacy and security issues facing the metaverse as there are not enough qualified people to deal with the complexity of the architecture to develop secure solutions. This fear also does not keep in mind user agreements where companies sell the data they obtained to third parties. In cataloging this information, users lose their right to privacy in microscopic areas of their lives.
Less Answers, More Questions
“Can someone be liable for their actions in the metaverse?” This is a critical question being asked with the development of XR. If one were to give avatars a legal persona, establishing rights and duties within a legal system, what might this mean for society? The distinction between a “legal” avatar and the true legal person who operates it becomes blurred, having a large effect on the ability to prove harm, loss, or injury suffered in the metaverse. Who owns our digital twin? Who is liable for the actions of our digital twin? We all have our place in the metaverse and these questions are just the beginning of much larger developments in the future.
[i] An online multiplayer game owned by Epic Games
Dive into philosophical discussions surrounding the significance of life in the Metaverse on Thursdays from 5 – 6 PM beginning March 16th. With selected readings in Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy by David Chalmers, Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, and Jorge Luis Borges’ Borges and I, attendees will discover what value we place on people and objects in digital spaces.
Senior Creative Writing major and Karp Library Fellow Ayiana Crabtree '22 was featured in this post for the UR admissions blog! Link to original post at the end.
Located on the first floor of Carlson Library, as the hub for extended reality at the University of Rochester, Studio X fosters a community of cross-disciplinary collaboration, exploration, and peer-to-peer learning that lowers barriers to entry, inspires experimentation, and drives innovative research and teaching in immersive technologies.
Studio X runs tons of fun workshops and events that aim to make XR fun and easier to understand. For example, I run an Intro to XR workshop every semester that teaches participants, no matter their skill level, all about the basics of XR with a fun hands-on learning experience. There are other workshops too, like Blender and Unity tutorials to teach you the basics of 3D modeling and game development. If workshops aren’t your thing, we also have events like our Beat Saber competition and a speaker series called Voices of XR, where you can learn about XR directly from professionals in the field.
Studio X has a wide range of XR technologies that students, faculty, and staff have access to using both inside and out of the space. Our most popular attractions are the Meta Quest 2 VR headsets, which can be borrowed and taken back to your dorm for up to three days at a time. On our VR headsets, there are a bunch of fun pre-downloaded games and experiences for you to play, like Beat Saber, Walkabout Minigolf, Job Simulator, and more! In addition to the VR headsets, we have 360 cameras and 360 audio recorders which can also be taken back to your dorm for a three-day period. If you don’t mind staying in the space, you can ask to try one of our Microsoft HoloLens 2’s (MR headsets) or use one of our high-end workstations for homework. You can also use any of the aforementioned technology in the space if you don’t want to take it back to your room.
Studio X’s main goal is to break down any barriers that may be preventing students from getting into XR technologies. Whether that be making resources readily available, or giving introductory tutorials, Studio X is here to help!
Karp Library Fellow, Ayiana Crabtree ’22 joined the Studio X team in February 2021 as our inaugural XR Research Fellow. For her final research project, we asked Ayiana to focus on XR and accessibility. Technology in general creates many barriers for disabled users. As XR technologies are rapidly growing in popularity, they exacerbate these challenges. When creating an XR product, whether that be a VR (virtual reality) headset or an AR (augmented reality) game, etc., people tend to think more about their product’s aesthetic or its usability for the average user. What people fail to remember is that not every user will be “the average user.” The world is a diverse place, with people of all ages, genders, races, and abilities, and when creating XR, it is important to keep in mind this diversity. XR and accessibility is itself a new area that is a moving target.
The goal of this topic of research was to ensure that Studio X would be prepared to accommodate any person that walks into the space to try out technologies. While this is a long-term goal, the research done this semester is a good first step to making Studio X accessibility-friendly.
In order to make Studio X more accessible for the future, Ayiana conducted research to find ways in which accessibility is already being incorporated with immersive technologies. This involved putting together a resource guide, meeting with the director of the Office of Disability Resources on campus, and running a student survey through the Office of Disability Resources mailing list. View her findings and more in the semester of research recap presentation below!
Summary: This post reviews resources on XR (extended reality) and accessibility and summarizes best practices for centering accessibility when engaging with these technologies.
Technology in general creates many barriers for disabled users. As XR technologies are rapidly growing in popularity, they exacerbate these challenges. When creating an XR product, whether that be a VR (virtual reality) headset or an AR (augmented reality) game, etc., people tend to think more about their product’s aesthetic or its usability for the average user. What people fail to remember is that not every user will be “the average user.” The world is a diverse place, with people of all ages, genders, races, and abilities, and when creating XR, it is important to keep in mind this diversity. XR and accessibility is itself a new area that is a moving target. Because of this, many new developments are in the works, so these resources may be outdated in just a year’s time.
Before we dive into XR, let’s first define some terms: What are Accessibility and Universal Design?
Accessibility is the ability to access something and be able to benefit from its intended purpose. It sometimes refers to specific characteristics that products, services, and facilities have that can be used by people with a variety of disabilities.
Accessible Design is a design process that specifically considers the needs of people with disabilities.
Universal Design is the process of creating products that are accessible to people with a wide range of abilities, disabilities, and other unique circumstances.
Link to Webpage Education, Teaching, Research, Organization, Conferences, Resources
XR Access is a community committed to making virtual, augmented, and mixed reality accessible to people with disabilities. Their mission is to modernize, innovate, and expand XR technologies, products, content and assistive technologies by promoting inclusive design in a diverse community that connects stakeholders, catalyzes shared and sustained action, and provides valuable, informative resources.
The site provides a plethora of materials for those interested in their efforts. Their research network provides valuable information regarding accessibility research that’s happening across the XR access research network. They have workstreams, which are community-led efforts to inform the design, development, and production of accessible XR. In addition to these, they also have a wide variety of other resources that are there to aid people in their own research, some of which are their annual XR Access Symposium reports (see below for more about the symposium). XR Access also curates stories of disabled folks who have used technology both successfully and unsuccessfully to help advocate for accessible XR technology. Those interested can sign up for their newsletter or join their robust Slack community.
Accessibility Needs of Extended Reality Hardware: A Mixed Academic-Industry Reflection
This journal publication walks the reader through the process of and reasoning behind the need for accessible XR hardware and software. By starting out with an explanation of the benefits of XR, they then move on to show why the accessibility movement should start with hardware. If a user cannot wear a headset, then they cannot experience its software. The XR Access Symposium of 2019 allowed many people to connect and expand upon their individual ideas, which allowed them to establish their goals for XR hardware accessibility. They established a need to: understand related fields’ accessibility guidelines, determine the most pressing obstacles, consider industry guidelines, and increase public awareness of the issues at hand. With those needs in mind and a focus on a community-centered approach, they believe it is easily possible to succeed in overcoming the lack of accessible XR hardware.
Barriers to Supporting Accessible VR in Academic Libraries
Although XR technologies offer new opportunities to engage students, they also present more challenges for disabled students. Technology, in general, already tends to exclude these users, and XR’s rapid rate of development further complicates things. The article shares statistics as of 2019 from the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education: “19.4% of undergraduates and 11.9% of graduate students have some form of disability.” The authors argue that academic libraries, as leaders in supporting and sharing new technologies, are well poised to address accessibility challenges for XR and must create clear policies and service models that support all users. While no clear accessibility guidelines currently exist, there are several promising initiatives such as XR Access Symposium that are working towards this goal. They detail two accessibility initiatives occurring at Temple University and at the University of Oklahoma. The authors then conclude with a list of key takeaways:
Plan for Accessibility from the Beginning: Libraries can save time and resources by thinking about accessibility issues at the start of a program or project.
Lack of Standards: As of 2020, there are no standards for accessible VR design, but there are related standards that could lay the groundwork for their development.
Developer Support is Essential: Libraries that intend to develop VR experiences need to have sufficient developer support with accessibility expertise.
Importance of Auditing and Reporting: Out-of-the-box VR experiences will pose different accessibility challenges from one person to the next and should be audited to better understand these barriers to access. If a library lacks a developer to modify software or create new software, at the very least, available software needs to be audited and have a corresponding accessibility report produced.
VR is Not the Pedagogy: VR should be another tool in an educator’s arsenal, not the sole focus of a class (unless VR is the course subject). As Fabris et al. (2019) suggest “Having VR for the sake of having VR won’t fly; the VR learning resources need to be built with learning outcomes in mind and the appropriate scaffolds in place to support the learning experience” (74).
Acknowledge the Limits of VR Accessibility: There are limits to making VR accessible. The reality is that there will be students who are unable to use VR for a variety of reasons. Therefore, there should always be an alternative access plan developed so that students have access to non-VR learning methods as well.
XR Accessibility Initiatives in Academic Libraries
As libraries traditionally take the lead in accessibility initiatives, a survey was done to examine the accessibility of their digital resources. Three questions were asked and sent to various academic libraries, and they received responses from 30 universities:
Question 1: What is the level of development of accessibility support for XR technologies in academic libraries?
The majority of institutions surveyed did not have policies or dedicated staff to support the accessibility for XR resources
Question 2: What XR accessibility knowledge do library staff and administrators currently have?
Nearly all participating spaces had some awareness of the challenges that XR provides and are able to find resources to assist when needed.
Question 3: What are the main barriers to developing accessibility support for XR technologies in academic libraries?
The top three barriers to developing accessibility policies and processes were lack of staff knowledge, lack of funding, and lack of time.
The concluding result was that XR and accessibility in academic libraries is still developing, so policies and staff are not yet in place. It is also noted that many institutions have plans to begin progressing towards implementing strategies soon.
DLFteach Toolkit: Lesson Plans on Immersive Pedagogy
The digital library foundation (DLF) has put together a toolkit of lesson plans that facilitate interdisciplinary work engaged with XR technologies. The toolkit is focused on a decolonial, anti-ableist, and feminist pedagogical framework for collaboratively developing and curating humanities content for emerging technologies.
Located in the introductory materials section of the toolkit, there are three particularly useful resources. Recommendations for accessible pedagogy with immersive technology, an immersive technology auditing checklist, and instructions on how to create an equally effective alternate action plan for immersive technologies.
Recommendations for Accessible Pedagogy with Immersive Technology – serves to provide a background for the increasing need for creating educational resources for disabled learners. The list of materials provided are intended to guide educators on how to incorporate immersive technologies into their teaching while also keeping disabled learners in mind. It is split into three sections: accessibility and disability, readings on the accessibility of immersive technologies, and recommended administrative considerations. It ends with a series of questions to keep in mind when teaching.
Immersive Technology Auditing Checklist – serves to identify and document the various challenges of making immersive technologies accessible. It divides the workflow into three steps: purchasing software and hardware, providing technical support for software and hardware, and ensuring user access to software and hardware. The checklist then walks you through a series of important questions when considering each phase of the process, posing questions such as “What hardware is required?” and “Is there an accessibility page for the software?” It also dives into questions about ease of operation and perception, asks about the robustness of the technology, and asks about any documentation about the technology.
Creating and Equally Effective Alternative Action Plan for Immersive Technologies – serves to instruct the reader on how to create an Equally Effective Alternative Action Plan (EEAAP). An EEAAP is a document that is used when there is an accessibility barrier in a technology (i.e. when a technology is unable to be used by a person or group with a disability). The components of an EEAAP are a description of the issue, the person or group affected, the responsible faculty, how the EEAA will be provided, the additional EEAA resources required, repair information, and a timeline for unforeseen events. Some examples of EEAAP’s are listed at the end of the resource.
Exploring Virtual Reality Through the Lens of Disability
This resource comes directly from the DLF Toolkit. It provides a lesson in an interdisciplinary approach to introducing VR immersions through the lens of disability studies. They are not aiming to represent how all people experience disability, rather they are trying to create an activity that includes discipline–specific theory and criticism. They then talk about the different types of VR: cinematic VR uses filmmaking techniques; simulation VR simulates the real and fictional, while the user is an active participant; representational VR creates immersive experiences through sensory embodiment; and therapeutic VR is designed for various treatments.
The resource then becomes an instructional guide on how to try several disability-related experiences. They recommend the audience, curricular context, learning outcomes, materials needed, how to prepare for the experiences, and provide a long list of sample instructions. Following this, they list several important applications they recommend trying: Notes on Blindness, The Party, and InMind VR. Each experience is paired with a plethora of questions and other external resources they found to be relevant.
Notes on Blindness – This experience tells the story of a man who lost his sight and how he coped by keeping an audio diary. For three years, he recorded over sixteen hours of material.
The Party– A VR film by The Guardian that allows you to enter the world of an autistc teenager who is at a surprise birthday party. You will hear internal thoughts about how the experience affects her and share the sensory overload that leads to a meltdown.
InMind VR – A short adventure that allows the user to journey into a patient’s brain and search for the neurons that cause mental disorder.
When you are in the beginning stages of creating something in an XR medium, whether that be a device or an experience, it is important to keep in mind the various factors that might make something less accessible. Accessibility could mean anything from being differently abled than those around you in terms of motor function, sensory deprivation, or wealth and societal standing.
VR has a plethora of positive features that could be beneficial to differently abled users such as the ability to enhance spatial sound on one side of the body, render visuals with higher contrast, and enable those in wheelchairs to experience what it would feel like to “walk around” in VR. However, like with any technology, VR also presents many accessibility challenges such as the heavy emphasis on motion controls, the use of the body to control many experiences, and the requirement to stand during some VR experiences.
Considering these and other challenges, here are some things to keep in mind while trying to make XR design more inclusive:
Hardware – What equipment do people need to participate in a VR environment? Is a standalone headset and controllers all that’s required? Or is there some form of special equipment or a computer to run the experiences also needed?
Navigation and Interfaces – How understandable is the XR environment? If a user had no context or guidebook upon entering the space, would they know what to do and how to interact? Make things either clearly labeled or have a guide or some form of instructions available. This could involve an avatar that appears to give instructions along the way, an instruction dialog box, or a guidebook with your product.
Communication – How are speech and body language communicated? Do you have an avatar that represents you in an environment? Is there full body tracking, or does your avatar just float from place to place? Do you speak using a microphone, or are there pre-written text options to choose from? Is captioning available?
Customization and Interoperability – Allow users to customize the XR environment to their needs. Can you enable color contrast? Can you toggle on and off captioning when needed? Are there a variety of sound options?
Avatars and Embodiment – Make sure that there are a wide range of options so people can feel accurately represented. Is there a wide range of skin tones, hair colors, hairstyles, clothing, etc. that will enable any person from anywhere in the world to feel as if they are properly represented in the VR space?
Try out the space yourself and see if it works from several perspectives of ability, seated, standing, sound, no sound, etc. Think about the users that you want to be able to access the device and try to see it from their perspective. Another way to do this might be having testing where you have differently-abled people come to try out your device/program and offer feedback.
An Accessible Future – XR: Considerations for Virtual, Mixed, and Augmented Reality
There are many XR applications for the workplace, such as virtual orientation events and training sessions. Imagine being able to attend a conference with people from all over the world using VR: you could still get the experience of being among professionals in your field without ever having to leave your home or office. For example, the XR Access Initiative used VR during its annual symposium to foster engagement. They created virtual rooms that conference participants could explore and interact with their surroundings, held virtual demonstrations, and provided captioned rooms and rooms with ASL interpreters.
The XR Access Initiative emphasizes three key accessibility factors for virtual conferences: captions, sign language communication, and keyboard and screen reader usage.
Captions – Captions should follow a user and be legible regardless of what angle from which they view the environment.
Sign Language – Sign language interpreters should be located in high visibility areas, and those who need interpreters should be able to get easy access to them.
Screen Reader/Keyboard – For those who are unable to or do not wish to use VR to attend, they should be able to interact with the space in the same way a person in VR could, though with simplified controls. Having cross-platform capabilities is important.
This virtual symposium showcases how VR can make conferences and other virtual events accessible to many people.
Why VR/AR Developers Should Prioritize Accessibility in UX/UI Design
Link to Article UI/UX, Development, Inclusive Design, Accessibility Settings
An important thing that this article touches on is how a lack of accessibility in VR can make people feel left out or ignored. For example, the easier it is for people to understand a game, the more likely they are to play it. Some things that you might not think about for inclusive design are different hair types or people who experience arthritis. If you have long hair that’s in a ponytail or buns or even fluffy hair, putting on a headset might become difficult as you will have to rearrange your hair into a new position to get the headset on. People with arthritis may need to sit down in the middle of a game, or their fingers or hands get sore after a time. Making controls easier to change in the middle of a game or experience would be very helpful in these cases. Some ways to make VR more accessible for glasses wearers could include the ability to change vision settings or the creation of better glasses adapters for current headsets.
There is a huge importance in having a diverse group of people in your testing groups to ensure that people of all genders, ethnicities, abilities, socio-economic backgrounds, and other identities are able to interact with your product with ease. It may be impossible to accommodate every unique circumstance but taking the diverse voices of others into consideration while making your product will ensure a better end result. While it may take a little more time to try to make sure everyone is included, the end design will be more profitable and beneficial to a larger community, which is most important.
This link is to the proceedings of the International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs (ICCHP). The 2020 ICCHP conference proceedings has a section on XR and accessibility. It has several articles on this topic that cover a wide range of subjects from vocational training for students with disabilities, AR for people with low vision, guidelines for inclusive avatars, and more.
This is a plugin offered on the Unity Asset Store that makes the UI for a Unity project accessible to blind and visually impaired players with just a few clicks.
This is Oculus’ guide for developers on how to create with accessibility in mind. The Accessibility VRCs (Virtual Reality Check Guidelines) focus on audio, visuals, interactions, locomotion/movement, and other aspects of accessible design. By deploying these guidelines, they ensure that every application officially available on their platform will meet certain accessibility requirements–something that might make their platform usable for more people. Link to the VRC Webpage: https://developer.oculus.com/resources/publish-quest-req/
Initiative aims to make virtual, augmented, and mixed reality accessible
This article links to a webinar about a new initiative to make XR accessible to more people. Larry Goldberg, Senior Director and Head of Accessibility at Verizon Media, discusses emerging technologies and how his company deals with this technological growth. The webinar highlights the importance of how we can use existing technologies as a jumping off point to create new accessible technologies from the beginning, or as Larry Goldberg says, have the technologies be “Born accessible.”
The XRA’s (XR Association’s) developer guide serves as a starter resource for developers looking to create XR experiences. The guide offers a series of industry-backed best practices to developing accessible platforms.
This is Oculus’ guide for those wishing to develop accessible content for their platform. They note the importance of accessibility as it pertains to widening the potential customer base.
This is Microsoft’s project that considers how to design mixed reality technologies in a way that makes them usable and useful to people of all abilities. This webpage links to those involved with the project, publications, and other news surrounding their efforts.
A custom locomotion driver for Steam VR applications introduces four new features for those with disabilities. The four features – virtual move, motion range boost, hand tracking, and Xbox controller move – can be adjusted to an individual user’s needs on the fly.
Virtual move allows players to use their controllers’ joystick to move, rather than having to physically move their arms.
Motion range boost changes the origin point of motion controllers to amplify movement. It translates a small movement into a large one.
Hand tracking allows the position of motion controllers to be emulated based on hand movements rather than having to use actual controllers.
Xbox controller move allows users to use a gamepad to emulate VR controller inputs.
This driver is free to download and is only available to users who use SteamVR headsets and applications. You must also have a Steam account to download the application. Link to the Steam store: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1248360/WalkinVR/
Using AI, people who are blind are able to find familiar faces in a room
Link to Article Microsoft, Developers, Software, HoloLens, AI
Project Tokyo is a Microsoft initiative that aims to help members of the blind and low-vision community with intelligent personal agent technology that leverages AI to extend their capabilities. The long-term goal of the project is to show that this XR technology can be used by anyone and even assist those with disabilities. Their focus is to create a way for those who are blind or have low vision to see the world or at least perceive it in a similar way to which sighted people do.
They provide several examples throughout the article. For example, they demonstrate the device’s AI ability to notify a user that someone is looking at them. If the wearer turns in the direction of another person, the AI is able to identify the other person’s name for the wearer. An individual working on the project states, “Whenever I am in a situation with more than two or three people, especially if I don’t know some of them, it becomes exponentially more difficult to deal with because people use more and more eye contact and body language to signal that they want to talk to such-and-such a person, that they want to speak now,” he said. “It is really very difficult as a blind person.” Social cues, whether conveyed verbally or physically, are so important for interaction. Rather than starting from scratch, the team is using a modified Microsoft HoloLens, as the HoloLens provides essential information to the AI for reading the environment.
Accessibility is a major priority for those in education fields. Approximately 15% of the world’s population has some form of disability, and one in four adults in the US have a disability that affects “major life activities.” As VR evolves, it provides a whole new range of opportunities and experiences for many people. For example, many visually impaired users can actually see better in VR due to the depth perception headsets provide. Moving forward, VR creators should consider the wide-ranging needs of users from the beginning of the development process.
Microsoft has developed several XR products with accessibility in mind:
Canetroller [Link]– The Canetroller, a Microsoft patented haptic device, works as a white cane that visually impaired people can use to experience a virtual environment.
Seeing VR [Link] – SeeingVR is a series of tools to make VR more accessible to those with low vision. The tools include a magnification lens, a bifocal lens, a brightness lens, a contrast lens, edge enhancement, peripheral remapping, text augmentation, text to speech, depth measurement, and more.
Braille Controller [Link] – The Microsoft-patented, braille-displaying controller attaches to the back of an Xbox controller, allowing for an alternative way for the visually impaired to experience games. The inspiration for this particular project was to make text-heavy video games more accessible to the visually impaired.
Hospitals are beginning to use VR to find new ways of relieving pain and offer palliative care to patients. While there is no technology currently in existence that would be able to restore someone’s sight, tools such as the IrisVision [https://irisvision.com/] can assist those living with such impairments by providing vision-aid features, a personal voice command assistant, a text-to-speech reader, and high contrast fonts. AR is also being studied to determine if such devices could be helpful with those who suffer from age-related macular degeneration.
The article also links to a variety of informational videos and links to accessibility groups and associations.
Inclusivity of VR and AR Accessibility for the Visually and Hearing Impaired
There are a plethora of companies working on creating applications for enhancing the experiences of differently abled users, and this article highlights a small sample of those projects. Microsoft has created the “canetroller,” which allows a blind or visually impaired person to access virtual reality through a controller that resembles a white cane that uses haptic and audio feedback. Nearsighted VR Augmented Aid is an Android application that uses a mobile device’s camera to display images in stereoscopic view. London’s National Theater did something similar with the help of Epsom’s latest smart glasses to display subtitles in the user’s field of vision, so even if a viewer looked away, they would still be able to see the subtitles. There are many more projects linked in the article.
Join us while we create cute and unique teddy bears for Valentine’s Day! This workshop focuses on asset creation with the 3D modeling software, Blender. This open-source and free software has become the industry standard over the last couple of years. Learn how to navigate its workspace, tools, and hotkeys and become familiar with one of the most popular platforms of the industry. You will create a low-polygon model using provided reference images. Your model can then potentially be used as avatars in other XR projects or 3D workspaces such as Unity.
Join Studio X, UR’s hub for immersive technologies, and learn more about the digitalworld of extended reality (XR). All levels welcome. No experience necessary!
Note: Workshop attendees must bring a laptop with Blender installed. Please download this ahead of time.
Instructor: Nefle Nesli Oruç & Koshala Mathuranayagam Where: Learning Hub, Studio X, First Floor Carlson Library When: Thursday, February 10th from 6 to 7:30pm Register: tinyurl.com/blender-valentines
Like Pokémon Go or Angry Birds AR? Learn the basics of working with AR (augmented reality) in Unity, a real-time creation platform! Unity is the engine behind all kinds of experiences such as Pokémon Go, Beat Saber, and the new Lion King movie. We’ll discuss how AR apps track objects and images in the real world and show you step-by-step how to create your very own AR experience on a device.
Join Studio X, UR’s hub for immersive technologies, and learn more about the digitalworld of extended reality (XR). All levels welcome. No experience necessary!
Note: In order to participate, you will need to complete the following pre-workshop instructions. Need assistance with this process? Join us on the Studio X Discord.
This Month in XR is Studio X’s YouTube channel. One episode will be uploaded at the end of each month to give you a closer look into some of the cool things that are going on in the world of XR. The findings we share will be different each month and can range from exciting XR developments in higher ed to new VR games to information about software updates.
This post is a summary of July’s This Month in XR vlog. For full content, see the video here!
Facebook Researchers Show “Reverse Passthrough” VR Prototype for Eye-Contact Outside the Headset Link to Original Article
When you put yourself into a VR headset, you are separating yourself from the world around you. Those around you no longer know who or what you are looking at. Facebook took initiative from this problem and is now in the process of creating their all-new “Reverse Passthrough” VR prototype that would allow people to see the users’ eyes while they are in the headset. By making use of light-field displays mounted on the outside of a VR headset, the system aims to show a representation of the users’ eyes that is both depth and direction accurate.
Niantic announced that they acquired Scaniverse, an app for iPhones and iPads that can scan objects and environments in high-resolution 3D. The app will not be removed from the App Store and will continue to function as a standalone app. Niantic removed the yearly subscription feature to make some of the features, such as higher-resolution processing and exporting models to 3D software free.
How HTC Vive Accidentally Created Mo-Cap Tech 10 Times Cheaper Than the Industry Standard Link to Original Article
When the HTC Vive was initially released, motion capture trackers only existed in the controllers to capture basic hand movements, as is standard in most VR headsets. In March of 2021, they released the third edition of the Vive Tracker ecosystem and the Vive Facial Tracker. The film industry has been looking at and using these technologies for their production, as the trackers can be placed to hands, feet, and the waist to fully encapsulate the range of human motion. Another fun usage of the Technology was by the newly created International Dance Association, the first-ever VR Dance community, who use the technology to hold dance battles in VR Chat.
The concept of virtual Taekwondo was introduced several months ago, using Singapore-based tech company Refract Technologies’ full-body motion capture system AXIS. AXIS Stands for Active XR Interface System. On August 18th, the Company launched an official Kickstarter campaign for its wireless full-body controller. The technology is so realistic that it even gained the attention of the World Taekwondo Federation who is now working alongside the company to organize an official virtual sports program.
Facebook is in the process of creating a new app for the Oculus Quest called Horizon Workrooms. Its features allow up to 16 people in VR and 34 people over video call to interact in the same space. A desktop companion app can allow you to share your computer screen while you are in VR and allow it to appear in the Virtual Space. A concern states that some of the processes are clunky, such as getting into the workroom, and even some of its features like the whiteboard and personal drawing pad. Workrooms is still under development, however, so keep a lookout for it on the Horizon.
XR@UR
Studio X Space Opening Soon!
Studio X, the University of Rochester’s Hub for Extended Reality Technology will be opening later this month! The space will be located on the first floor of Carlson Library. Studio X will foster a community of cross-disciplinary collaboration, exploration, and peer-to-peer learning that lowers barriers to entry, inspires experimentation, and drives innovative research and teaching in immersive technologies.
Once the space opens, students will have access to a wide range of XR technologies such as the Oculus Quest 2, Microsoft HoloLens, 360 Cameras, 360 Audio Recorders, High-end computers, and more. Most of the technologies the space has to offer can either be used in the space or rented out for several days at a time. In addition to technologies, we will also begin running a variety of workshops to teach the University community about XR technologies. These workshops will include things like an Introduction to XR as a whole, Intro to Blender, Intro to Unity, and more to help people get started on their innovative journeys.
Interested in building virtual worlds, VR simulations, AR applications, and more? Meet Unity, an industry-standard, real-time creation platform used for video games, animations, and XR projects! In this Unity crash course, you will learn about its user interface, the basics of coding, its physics engine, and AR basics. Leveraging this knowledge, you will explore a zombie-infested campus, create your own AR application, and more! Join the Studio X team for this fun and informative 3-week workshop series. All learning levels are welcome. No experience necessary! While we recommend signing up for all four workshops, you are also welcome to attend as many or as few as you can.
Note: In order to participate, you will need to complete the following pre-workshop instructions. Need assistance with this process? Join us on the Studio X Discord.
Where: Learning Hub, Studio X, First Floor Carlson Library When: Wednesdays, 10/27/21 – 11/17/21 from 4 to 5:30pm Register: Full Series
