Project
| # | Title | Team Members | TA | Documents | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | VR Disability Accessibility |
Evan Miller Justin Zhou Vinith Raj |
Dean Biskup | design_document1.pdf design_document2.pdf design_document3.pdf final_paper1.pdf other1.pdf proposal1.pdf |
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| Evan Miller (evanmm2), Justin Zhou (jezhou2), Raj Vinith (vinithr2) ISSUE As the world keeps progressing, virtual reality (VR) devices are becoming more and more sophisticated. There are full body capture devices being released on the market, as well as haptic feedback. As VR becomes more high powered and consumer friendly, there is a good potential for developers to make more gaming, resource, and teaching applications. As it stands right now, however, VR is inhospitable for people with disabilities. This is especially true of people with disabilities of the arms or hands. The specific issue of making a VR controller for this purpose, is that VR controllers have a different SDK than other controllers that exist for well established systems (PS4, XBox), so when a controller is made, it has to be compatible with the headset firmware wise. On the hardware side, the controller has to be designed so that someone can use it without being able to see it. If someone cannot navigate the controller without sight then it is unusable, due to them having the headset strapped to their face. There are also some general issues with developing for VR, such as keeping things feeling natural for users to increase immersion, and keeping peripherals strong in the case of excess movement on the part of the user due to getting too engrossed, which includes paying attention to how wires and other parts of the peripheral can get caught or hit other things. SOLUTION The issue of accessibility for people with disabilities is something that can be solved through multiple avenues. The way that I am proposing specifically tackles this issue for people with the disabilities of the arms or hands. A set of controllers will be made for feet that are controlled by using pressure sensors in the heel and balls of the feet to allow for continuous or quick inputs. Firmware will be necessary for parsing and identification of signals, and saving and normalizing a persons weight and pressure can be done to calibrate. The sensors will have their own battery pack(s) to provide power and reduce cord tangle, and a single Bluetooth device to send those signals to a computer for use. There are multiple approaches to adjustability for users that are explained further in the subsystems. Testing is necessary to know what is most accessible, but either a station to keep the feet in the same place that acts as a hub for the electronics, strapped on sensors/battery packs, or a combination of both with a sensor pad (like a Dance Dance Revolution pad) will be developed for user input. SOLUTION SUBSYSTEM MATERIALS Subsystem 1 [Foot Sensing]: Pressure sensors for the feet. Shoe soles for basic testing. Subsystem 2 [Signal Parsing]: 1 or 2 Arduinos to parse and add identifiers to pressure signals. Subsystem 3 [Power]: Batteries and Battery packs to provide power to the Arduino(s) and pressure sensors. Subsystem 4 [Computer Signal Delivery]: Bluetooth device for Arduino to send signals to computer. Software for calibration and making the Arduino data usable for VR devices. Subsystem 5 (tentative) [Foot holders]: Cardboard and tape to make basic foot holders and a shell to hold the electronics, with holes for the feet to be inserted into. Testing necessary to see if it would feel to unintuitive or reduce balance, however if someone is already using their feet as a controller, then it makes sense to protect the electronics with an outer shell, and make it so that the controller can't be stepped off of unless doing it consciously. Also makes it simpler for people with arm/hand disabilities to use, by not having them fiddle with straps. Also comes with the benefit of unifying left and right feet signals into a single Arduino board and Bluetooth output. Subsystem 6 (tentative) [Straps/Bags/Adjustability]: If a foot holder is not used, then a series of straps and bags are necessary to attach and hold the batteries and Arduino board(s). There would also need to be straps to attach the pressure sensors to the correct part of their feet/bottom of their shoes. This is not user friendly due to it being difficult for someone with limited hand motion to attach things like this, which is why testing needs to be done. Subsystem 7 (tentative) [Mat/Plastic sheets]: Dance Dance Revolution mats have the same kind of pressure sensor concept, but are easy to get lost on. It could be beneficial to use this concept, but have obvious physical identifiers that a user can feel to reorient themselves on the mat. We can use plastic sheets as a fill in for a mat to test. Physical landmarks need to be experimented with during the testing phase. Cushioning foam would work for landmark testing and experimentation. Criterion for Success: To be successful, this project needs to have a functional interface between the computer and signals sent by the pressure pads so that the signals are accessible, parsed, and usable for other programs. The other main part for the project to be successful is to have a clear implemented design for the user input that is both intuitive and comfortable. |
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