Accessibility for the Immersive Web — Accessible Locomotion for WebXR

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Accessibility for the Immersive Web Accessible Locomotion for WebXR Roland Dubois @rolanddubois

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What do we think when we hear VR https://www.flickr.com/photos/yelp/28474934237/

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How do we interact and play in VR? Overview of VR controllers

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Is VR inherently inaccessible?

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2014 Google Cardboard

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https://www.theverge.com/2014/6/25/5842188/googles-cardboard-turns-your-android-device-into-a-vr-headset

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2015 nytvr App

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https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/16/magazine/virtual-reality-fails-its-way-to-success.html

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2015 MozVR team releases A-Frame

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https://aframe.io/

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VR ≠ the Immersive web (WebXR) VR is not a toy. It’s a new medium. New media can’t be exclusive @rolanddubois

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Is the fallback input for mobile VR inclusive enough for everyone?

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Navigating VR for Physically Disabled Users with Binary Input Controls

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NSCISC: >250.000 people with quadriplegia (tetraplegia) in the US each year Majority: Neurological disease/disorders & birth defects (MS/ALS/Polio/…) Random accidents: Statistically every 41 min a person in the US sustains a traumatic spinal cord injury (many paralyzing) @rolanddubois

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Sip-and-Puff - introduced to navigate wheelchairs in the 1960s

two (stereo) input frequencies: sip/puff strong/soft/continuous

rebirth in IOT and AT for productivity software @rolanddubois

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From Sip-and-Puff To Binary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sip-and-puff

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Reality Virtually Hackathon 2019 @MIT Media Lab

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Binary Input - single button control

binary input frequencies: on/off - short/long/ continuous

mapped with the W3C standard Gamepad API to enable assistive technology (AT) devices @rolanddubois

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Locomotion Mode @rolanddubois

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Interaction Mode @rolanddubois

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433 Hackers 110 Team submissions Best Application For Accessibility Wayfair Way-more Best Use of an HTC Vive Focus 3x winner at the world’s largest, most diverse XR Hackathon. January 17-21st, 2019 @ the MIT Media Lab, Boston https://realityvirtuallyhack.com

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Thanks! Roland Dubois rolanddubois.com @rolanddubois #aframe_nyc #webxr @aframevr