Accessible by Design: An Opportunity for Virtual Reality
Open accessAbstract
Too often, the accessibility of technology to people with disabilities is an afterthought (if it is considered at all); post-hoc or third-party patches to accessibility, while better than no solution, are less optimal than interface designs that consider ability-based concerns from the start [31]. Virtual Reality (VR) technologies are at a crucial point of near-maturity, with emerging, but not yet widespread, commercialization; as such, VR technologies have an opportunity to integrate accessibility as a fundamental, developing cross-industry standards and guidelines to ensure high-quality, inclusive experiences that could revolutionize the power and reach of this medium. In this position paper, we discuss the needs, opportunities, and challenges of creating accessible VR.
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VR and immersive 3-D digital content pose significant accessibility barriers for blind and low-vision (BLV) users, who cannot engage with its rich visual information.
“Despite its growing popularity, VR and its immersive 3-D digital content still pose significant accessibility barriers, especially for people who are blind or have low vision (BLV) and therefore cannot engage with its rich visual information [54].”
From From Screen Reading to "Scene Reading" in SceneVR: Touch-Based Interaction Techniques for Use in Virtual Reality by Blind and Low-Vision Users (2025) · cites this paper as [54]
The indexed passages contain bibliographic information and keywords, but no substantive discussion of accessibility barriers for blind or low-vision users. Searches for blind or low vision, visual information, and VR accessibility challenges returned no passage addressing the claim. (LLM, conf=0.74)
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Synaesthesia in phantom limbs induced with mirrors
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Extending body space in immersive virtual reality: a very long arm illusion
Kilteni, K., Normand, J.-M., Sanchez-Vives, M. V., & Slater, M. (2012) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0040867 · Cited by 499 · see citing works
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Effect of age and Parkinson's disease on cursor positioning using a mouse
Keates, S., & Trewin, S. (2005) · Proceedings of the 7th international ACM SIGACCESS conference on Computers and accessibility · doi:10.1145/1090785.1090800 · Cited by 100 · cited 1× · see citing works
“For example, understanding the pointing performance of people with tremor [13] led to the development of the Steady Clicks pointing facilitation techniques [25].”
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Inclusive Augmented and Virtual Reality: A Research Agenda
Creed, C., Al-Kalbani, M., Theil, A., Sarcar, S., & Williams, I. (2024) · International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1080/10447318.2023.2247614 · Cited by 126 · see citing works
Critical Immersive-Triggered Literacy as a Key Component for Inclusive Digital Education
Lazou, C., & Tsinakos, A. (2023) · Education Sciences · doi:10.3390/educsci13070696 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Enable Blind Users’ Experience in 3D Virtual Environments: The Scene Weaver Prototype
Balasubramanian, H., Morrison, C., Grayson, M., Makhataeva, Z., Marques, R. F., Gable, T., Perez, D., & Cutrell, E. (2023) · Extended Abstracts of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/3544549.3583909 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Self-citationKneitmix, M. J., & Wobbrock, J. O. (2025) · Proceedings of the 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility · doi:10.1145/3663547.3746364 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“D digital content still pose significant accessibility barriers, especially for people who are blind or have low vision (BLV) and therefore cannot engage with its rich visual information [54].”
- Authors
- Mott, M., Cutrell, E., Gonzalez Franco, M., Holz, C., Ofek, E., Stoakley, R., & Ringel Morris, M.
- Affiliations
- Microsoft (United States) (US)
- Venue
- 2019 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality Adjunct (ISMAR-Adjunct)
- Publisher
- IEEE
- Published
- 2019-10
- Pages
- 451-454
- OpenAlex
- W2972795682
- Cited by
- 161
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 41 · 2024: 42 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 16.82
- Type
- conference paper
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Licence
- Locations
- IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality Adjunct (ISMAR-Adjunct) (publishedVersion)
- University of Birmingham Research Portal (University of Birmingham) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- University of Birmingham Research Portal (University of Birmingham) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Human Factors and Ergonomics › Digital Accessibility for Disabilities
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility
- Keywords
- disability, inclusive design, accessibility standards, assistive technology, user interface design
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