InclusiveVR@Work: inclusive working environments in virtual reality for people with and without visual impairments

In recent years, virtual reality (VR) has developed considerably and is now used not only in the leisure sector, but also in a professional context. The reasons for this are that application-oriented training scenarios can be played out in VR if certain situations are associated with risks in real life. VR also enables decentralized collaboration in which different people can work on content simultaneously in a shared virtual space without having to be on site. The aim of the InclusiveVR@Work project is to use this possibility of inclusive collaboration in a professional context. Although people with (severe) disabilities already regularly use VR applications, there are many barriers that have not yet been systematically investigated in previous research and for which there are still no uniformly applicable solutions. In particular, there are still no approaches that shed light on the collaboration of people with and without visual impairments in VR.

The aim of the InclusiveVR@Work project is therefore to develop innovative working environments for people with severe visual impairments in VR that enable equal participation in working life in vocational education and training. The individual adaptability of the working environment to the visual impairment and the integration of traditional work equipment are important here. In addition, methods are to be developed that enable collaboration in which all members of a team can work together on a project in a virtual space on an equal footing. Each person uses an optimized view of the project content depending on their individual vision, as well as different work tools and techniques depending on their preference. InclusiveVR@Work thus creates the basis for inclusive collaboration in VR.

Project Website

https://www.inclusive-vr.de/english/index.php

Cooperation partner

https://www.iosb.fraunhofer.de/en/competences/image-exploitation/interactive-analysis-diagnosis.html

Duration

January 2023 to December 2025

Financing

Financed by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) from the Compensation Fund (promotional reference: AGF.00.00002.22)