Remote Virtual Showdown: A Collaborative Virtual Reality Game for People with Visual Impairments

Many researchers have developed VR systems for people with visual impairments by using various audio feedback techniques. However, there has been much less study of collaborative VR systems in which people with visual impairments and people with able-body can participate together. Therefore, we developed a VR showdown game which is similar to a real Showdown game in which two players can play together in the same virtual environment. We incorporate auditory distance perception using the HRTF (Head Related Transform Function) based on a spatial position in VR. We developed two modes in the showdown game. One is the PVA (Player vs. Agent) mode in which people with visual impairments can play alone and the PVP (Player vs. Player) mode in which people with visual impairments can play with another player in the network environment. We conducted our user studies by comparing the performances of people with visual impairments and people with able-body. The user study results show that people with visual impairments won 67.6% of the games when competing against people with able-body. This paper reports an example of a collaborative VR system for people with visual impairments and also design guideline for developing VR systems for people with visual impairments.

[1]  Christoph M. Friedrich,et al.  Object Detection Featuring 3D Audio Localization for Microsoft HoloLens - A Deep Learning based Sensor Substitution Approach for the Blind , 2018, HEALTHINF.

[2]  Eelke Folmer,et al.  VR-STEP: Walking-in-Place using Inertial Sensing for Hands Free Navigation in Mobile VR Environments , 2016, CHI.

[3]  Ivan Poupyrev,et al.  The go-go interaction technique: non-linear mapping for direct manipulation in VR , 1996, UIST '96.

[4]  Mansooreh Mollaghasemi,et al.  Usability engineering of virtual environments (VEs): identifying multiple criteria that drive effective VE system design , 2003, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[5]  Ben Shneiderman,et al.  Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction , 1998 .

[6]  Hojun Lee,et al.  A VR serious game for fire evacuation drill with synchronized tele-collaboration among users , 2016, VRST.

[7]  Christof Lutteroth,et al.  Balancing different fitness levels in competitive exergames based on heart rate and performance , 2017, OZCHI.

[8]  Jacob B. Madsen,et al.  Differences in human audio localization performance between a HRTF- and a non-HRTF audio system , 2013, AM '13.

[9]  Masaki Matsuo,et al.  GoalBaural: A Training Application for Goalball-related Aural Sense , 2018, AH.

[10]  Tony Morelli,et al.  VI-Tennis: a vibrotactile/audio exergame for players who are visually impaired , 2010, FDG.

[11]  Ivan Poupyrev,et al.  3D User Interfaces: Theory and Practice , 2004 .

[12]  Yôiti Suzuki,et al.  Control of auditory distance perception based on the auditory parallax model , 2001 .

[13]  Tony Morelli,et al.  Vi-bowling: a tactile spatial exergame for individuals with visual impairments , 2010, ASSETS '10.

[14]  David C. Reutens,et al.  Early but not late-blindness leads to enhanced auditory perception , 2010, Neuropsychologia.

[15]  Sven Seele,et al.  Here's Looking At You Anyway!: How Important is Realistic Gaze Behavior in Co-located Social Virtual Reality Games? , 2017, CHI PLAY.

[16]  Timo Götzelmann,et al.  BlindWalkVR: formative insights into blind and visually impaired people's VR locomotion using commercially available approaches , 2020, PETRA.

[17]  I. S. Mackenzie,et al.  Virtual Environments and Advanced Interface Design , 1995 .

[18]  Christof Lutteroth,et al.  Virtual Performance Augmentation in an Immersive Jump & Run Exergame , 2019, CHI.

[19]  Mitsunori Tada,et al.  Dollhouse VR: a multi-view, multi-user collaborative design workspace with VR technology , 2015, SIGGRAPH Asia Posters.

[20]  Timo Götzelmann,et al.  First Steps Towards Walk-In-Place Locomotion and Haptic Feedback in Virtual Reality for Visually Impaired , 2019, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[21]  Rudy Darken,et al.  Wayfinding strategies and behaviors in large virtual worlds , 1996, CHI.

[22]  Meredith Ringel Morris,et al.  Enabling People with Visual Impairments to Navigate Virtual Reality with a Haptic and Auditory Cane Simulation , 2018, CHI.

[23]  Michael J. Singer,et al.  Measuring Presence in Virtual Environments: A Presence Questionnaire , 1998, Presence.

[24]  Heather C. Lum,et al.  How Immersion, Presence, Emotion, & Workload Differ in Virtual Reality and Traditional Game Mediums , 2018, Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting.

[25]  Tony Morelli,et al.  Pet-N-Punch: upper body tactile/audio exergame to engage children with visual impairments into physical activity , 2011, Graphics Interface.

[26]  Steven K. Feiner,et al.  Virtual Replicas for Remote Assistance in Virtual and Augmented Reality , 2015, UIST.

[27]  Valentina Nisi,et al.  Proceedings of the ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play , 2017 .

[28]  Christof Lutteroth,et al.  Me vs. Super(wo)man: Effects of Customization and Identification in a VR Exergame , 2020, CHI.

[29]  Judy Kay,et al.  Evaluating the Actual and Perceived Exertion Provided by Virtual Reality Games , 2017, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[30]  R. Zatorre,et al.  Relevance of Spectral Cues for Auditory Spatial Processing in the Occipital Cortex of the Blind , 2011, Front. Psychology.

[31]  Tony Morelli,et al.  Real-time sensory substitution to enable players who are blind to play video games using whole body gestures , 2011, Entertain. Comput..

[32]  Yuan Lu,et al.  Step-by-Step: Exploring a Social Exergame to Encourage Physical Activity and Social Dynamics among Office Workers , 2019, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[33]  Kibum Kim,et al.  Challenges in HCI: digital divide , 2005, CROS.

[34]  Mel Slater,et al.  Taking steps: the influence of a walking technique on presence in virtual reality , 1995, TCHI.

[35]  Sven Seele,et al.  Comparison of Two Inventory Design Concepts in a Collaborative Virtual Reality Serious Game , 2017, CHI PLAY.

[36]  P. Thompson,et al.  ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription , 1995 .

[37]  Robert D. Howe,et al.  Tactile Display of Vibratory Information in Teleoperation and Virtual Environments , 1995, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[38]  Shumin Zhai,et al.  The influence of muscle groups on performance of multiple degree-of-freedom input , 1996, CHI.

[39]  Eric B. Hekler,et al.  "healthifying" exergames: improving health outcomes through intentional priming , 2014, CHI.

[40]  Hai-Ning Liang,et al.  DMove: Directional Motion-based Interaction for Augmented Reality Head-Mounted Displays , 2019, CHI.

[41]  Edward Cutrell,et al.  Virtual Reality Without Vision: A Haptic and Auditory White Cane to Navigate Complex Virtual Worlds , 2020, CHI.

[42]  Michel Denis,et al.  Exploration of architectural spaces by blind people using auditory virtual reality for the construction of spatial knowledge , 2014, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[43]  Kyle Rector,et al.  Virtual Showdown: An Accessible Virtual Reality Game with Scaffolds for Youth with Visual Impairments , 2019, CHI.

[44]  Judy Kay,et al.  Embedding a VR Game Studio in a Sedentary Workplace: Use, Experience and Exercise Benefits , 2020, CHI.

[45]  Melissa A. Federoff,et al.  HEURISTICS AND USABILITY GUIDELINES FOR THE CREATION AND EVALUATION OF FUN IN VIDEO GAMES , 2002 .

[46]  Perttu Hämäläinen,et al.  Social Play in an Exergame: How the Need to Belong Predicts Adherence , 2019, CHI.

[47]  Joseph L. Gabbard.  A Taxonomy of Usability Characteristics in Virtual Environments , 1997 .

[48]  R S Kalawsky,et al.  VRUSE--a computerised diagnostic tool: for usability evaluation of virtual/synthetic environment systems. , 1999, Applied ergonomics.

[49]  Robert S. Kennedy,et al.  Simulator Sickness Questionnaire: An enhanced method for quantifying simulator sickness. , 1993 .

[50]  Christof Lutteroth,et al.  Race Yourselves: A Longitudinal Exploration of Self-Competition Between Past, Present, and Future Performances in a VR Exergame , 2020, CHI.

[51]  Franca Garzotto,et al.  Social MatchUP -: a Memory-like Virtual Reality Game for the Enhancement of Social Skills in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders , 2018, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[52]  A. Bronkhorst,et al.  Auditory distance perception in humans : A summary of past and present research , 2005 .

[53]  Jenny Waycott,et al.  Echo-house: exploring a virtual environment by using echolocation , 2018, OZCHI.

[54]  Wei Peng,et al.  Is Playing Exergames Really Exercising? A Meta-Analysis of Energy Expenditure in Active Video Games , 2011, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[55]  Paul Richard,et al.  Effect of Frame Rate and Force Feedback on Virtual Object Manipulation , 1996, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[56]  Bruno Sinopoli,et al.  EchoExplorer(TM): A Game App for Understanding Echolocation and Learning to Navigate Using Echo Cues , 2017 .

[57]  Elena Márquez Segura,et al.  ExerCube vs. Personal Trainer: Evaluating a Holistic, Immersive, and Adaptive Fitness Game Setup , 2019, CHI.

[58]  Christopher D. Wickens,et al.  Cognitive issues in virtual reality , 1995 .

[59]  Samuel B. Williams,et al.  ASSOCIATION FOR COMPUTING MACHINERY , 2000 .

[60]  S. Hillyard,et al.  Improved auditory spatial tuning in blind humans , 1999, Nature.

[61]  Andrea G. Parker,et al.  Spaceship Launch: Designing a Collaborative Exergame for Families , 2015, CSCW.

[62]  Brian C. J. Moore,et al.  A summary of research investigating echolocation abilities of blind and sighted humans , 2014, Hearing Research.

[63]  Elin A. Björling,et al.  Designing a Collaborative Virtual Reality Game for Teen-Robot Interactions , 2019, IDC.

[64]  Yunhao Liu,et al.  Inferring Motion Direction using Commodity Wi-Fi for Interactive Exergames , 2017, CHI.

[65]  Martin Kraus,et al.  Player Experience in a VR and Non-VR Multiplayer Game , 2018, VRIC.

[66]  B. Franklin,et al.  American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Quantity and quality of exercise for developing and maintaining cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, and neuromotor fitness in apparently healthy adults: guidance for prescribing exercise. , 2011, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[67]  Sofia Cavaco,et al.  An orientation game with 3D spatialized audio for visually impaired children , 2014, Advances in Computer Entertainment.

[68]  Marianna Obrist,et al.  "I Always Wanted to See the Night Sky": Blind User Preferences for Sensory Substitution Devices , 2016, CHI.