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A virtual reality platform to simulate orientation and mobility training for the visually impaired

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Abstract

Blindness and low vision are an urgent, steadily increasing public health concern. One of the most dramatic consequences of the debilitating conditions that cause visual impairment (VI) is the loss of mobility. Immobility is a grave impediment to quality of life. Orientation and mobility (O&M) training is a profession specific to VI that teaches safe, efficient, and effective travel skills to persons of all ages and in all types of environments. However, the lack of standardized best practices for objective assessment of performance and the exposure of trainees to harm during training are key hurdles for O&M education success. To partially mitigate these drawbacks, we propose a virtual reality platform that can support O&M trainers in the evaluation and refinement of O&M practice, help O&M trainees learn new O&M techniques in a completely safe, yet realistic, environment, and raise awareness for VI in the general public. The proposed platform is tested with a proof-of-concept experiment that evaluates the clinical utility of a custom VI simulation, the immersivity of the virtual reality experience—a crucial attribute for training and educational purposes—and participants’ disability awareness and gained knowledge about the challenges faced by persons with VI in their daily life. The first concept is tested by assessing participants’ performance in virtual reality-based wayfinding tasks while the second and third are tested through a series of dedicated questionnaires.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

We would also like to show our gratitude to Dr. Duane Geruschat, Research Associate in Ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins University Wilmer Eye Institute; and to Dr. William H. Seiple, Research Professor in Ophthalmology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, for the insightful comments offered. Their knowledge and expertise shared with us during the course of this research have greatly assisted this study and improved the manuscript.

Funding

This study was supported by the National Science Foundation under Award Number CBET-1604355, ECCS-1928614, and CNS-1952180.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Six MetroTech Center, Brooklyn, New York, NY, 11201, USA

    Fabiana Sofia Ricci, John-Ross Rizzo & Maurizio Porfiri

  2. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Six MetroTech Center, Brooklyn, New York, NY, 11201, USA

    Alain Boldini, Mahya Beheshti, John-Ross Rizzo & Maurizio Porfiri

  3. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, New York University Langone Health, 240 East 38th Street, New York, NY, 10016, USA

    Mahya Beheshti & John-Ross Rizzo

  4. Department of Neurology, New York University Langone Health, 240 East 38th Street, New York, NY, 10016, USA

    John-Ross Rizzo

  5. Center for Urban Science and Progress, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, 370 Jay Street, Brooklyn, New York, NY, 11201, USA

    Maurizio Porfiri

Authors
  1. Fabiana Sofia Ricci
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Contributions

FSR designed the virtual reality platform, conducted the experiments, and performed statistical analyses. FSR and AB wrote the first draft of the manuscript. FSR, AB, JRR, and MP contributed to the investigation and framing of the results. JRR and MP supervised the research, secured the funding, and edited the first draft. All the authors participated in the human subject protocol and reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Maurizio Porfiri.

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Ricci, F.S., Boldini, A., Beheshti, M. et al. A virtual reality platform to simulate orientation and mobility training for the visually impaired. Virtual Reality 27, 797–814 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10055-022-00691-x

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