Literature Reviews

Reviewed research papers, articles, and publications relevant to digital accessibility.

• Enabling the blind in virtual worlds

  William S. Carter (2010) — Proceedings of the 2010 International Cross Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from IBM's Human Ability and Accessibility Center describes experimental techniques for enabling blind users to participate in virtual world environments. Unlike conventional web content where text and images can be given alternative descr…

  • virtual reality
  • blindness
  • virtual worlds
  • multimodal interaction
  • cognitive overload
  • avatar
  • spatial navigation
  • assistive technology

• Amaze3D: Making 3D Worlds Accessible to Blind Gamers

  Greg Gay, Matthew Ralston (2023) — Proceedings of the 20th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This extended abstract presents Amaze3D (The Accessibility Maze 3D), a proof-of-concept demonstrating that Unity-based 3D game worlds can be made independently navigable by blind players. Built as a WebGL-based 3D adaptation of an earlier 2D JavaScri…

  • game accessibility
  • blind users
  • Unity
  • 3D worlds
  • educational games
  • serious games
  • spatial navigation
  • screen reader

• Echolocation as an Accessible Navigation Tool in a Virtual 3D Environment

  Mai Ricaplaza Thøgersen, Rasmus Jens Frølich Kjeldsen (2024) — Assets '24: Proceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper investigates whether active echolocation — emitting a sound and interpreting its echo — can serve as a viable navigation tool for blind and low-vision (BLV) individuals in virtual 3D environments. Virtual spaces remain overwhelmingly visua…

  • virtual environments
  • echolocation
  • blind and low vision
  • spatial navigation
  • sonic design space
  • user study