This paper presents a haptic virtual reality tool developed to enhance the accessibility for the visually impaired. The proposed approach focuses on the development of a highly interactive haptic virtual reality system that allows visually impaired, to study and interact with various virtual objects in specially designed virtual environments. The system is based on the use of the CyberGraspTM a...

It is well known that mathematics presents a number of hindrances to visually impaired students. In case of function graphs, for example, several assistive solutions have been proposed to enhance their accessibility. Unfortunately, both hardware tools (e.g., tactile paper) and existing software applications cannot guarantee, at the same time, a clear understanding of the graph and a full autono...

Being subscribed to a newspaper, readers expect some basic things: receiving their paper in their mailbox early in the morning, being able to read it privately when and where they want, reading first what they find most interesting, etc. For people with a reading disability all this is not that obvious as only few accessible alternatives are around; accessible news on a daily basis does virtual...

“Access technology” (AT) is a term used to discuss assistive and adaptive technologies. While these terms are often used interchangeably, “access technology” is proposed insofar as the idea of “assistive” may be understood as redundant and condescending, since every technology can be perceived as assistive in one way or another (Ladner, 2010). The United States Assistive Technology Act (Technol...

This paper introduces a system which converts scanned line graphs into a data format which is interpretable by a haptic device. A virtual line graph can then be rendered and explored through touch by using the haptic device. This system provides an alternative method for blind or visually impaired people to access printed graphs. This method has a simpler production process than the conventiona...

Students with vision impairment encounter barriers in studying mathematics particularly in higher education levels. They must have an equal chance with sighted students in mathematics subjects. Making mathematics accessible to the vision impaired users is a complicated process. This accessibility can be static or dynamic, in static accessibility the user is presented with a representation of th...

Many collaborative situations require that a remote helper guides a local worker in performing manipulations of physical objects in the real world (physical tasks). Existing systems supporting such collaboration often confine collaborators in fixed desktop settings. Therefore they have limited usefulness in situations in which collaborators are mobile and/or desktop settings are not feasible. I...

I t’s n o sE CrE t that computers and the Internet have changed society in ways that weren’t imaginable only a quarter-century ago. The ability to connect with other people all over the globe, read about events as they unfold, shop online, and manage information has profoundly changed the landscape— and mind-set—of modern society. More than three-quarters of households in the U.S. have computer...

The application of 3D virtual worlds is not restricted to immersive or desktop virtual environments. Concepts and techniques that became mature in Virtual Reality applications are now finding their way in artistic performances. This paper presents an example of the mutual inspiring effect of art and technology, where the origin and nature of technology itself is used to come to a new artistic s...

The widespread use of power wheelchairs has greatly increased the requirements for accessibility of buildings and other architectural structures to handicapped persons. In addition, recent advances in microcomputer technology have made possible increasingly sophisticated power wheelchair interfaces, such as halo, puff and sip, and muscle control mechanisms, which can provide mobility for an eve...