Extended reality (XR) is now firmly part of the mainstream. From Pokémon Go and immersive gaming arcades to industry use cases in manufacturing, medicine and education, reality-enhancing headsets and goggles are fast becoming part of the furniture.

One burgeoning application of XR is how it can be used to improve life for people with disabilities of different kinds. So far, these innovations have fallen into three broad categories: assistive tech, XR for rehabilitation and training, and solutions that could raise awareness about what it's like to live with a disability.

While some of these solutions are already in use, there's one major factor that's standing in the way – the accessibility of the tech itself. Many wearables – both headsets and goggles – aren't suitable for people with disabilities.

VR relies on physical movement, which isn't appropriate for people with motor issues. Moreover, headsets and screen glare can be a problem for people with low vision. The result of this is that a lot of VR games are entirely inaccessible to people with disabilities.

Nevertheless, this is a burgeoning industry – and we're likely to see many advances over the coming years.

Assistive technology

AR and VR headsets have the potential to help people with low vision. VisionBuddy, for instance, is an assistive device that aims to help people with visual impairments perform daily tasks.

Its functions range from enhancing the image quality on the TV to magnifying small text on medicine labels, thermostats and more.

Similar tech has been developed by GiveVision, a startup based in London. Its VR headset – known as SightPlus – enables people with low vision to see clearly both at a distance and up close.

And it appears to be working – a study at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London showed that 98% of participants benefitted from the headset.

The world of gaming is also looking to assist people with visual impairments. In Italy, a VR acoustic archery game has been developed. It aims to improve the orientation skills of people with visual impairments and thereby improve their independence.

It's not just everyday tasks that can be made more accessible by XR. There's also the world of arts and culture.

In Prague, the National Gallery hosted an exhibition called Touching Masterpieces, which brought classic sculptures to life for people with visual impairments.

Rather than donning a headset, visitors would put on a pair of haptic gloves. They would then use these gloves to "see" virtual versions of masterpieces like Michelangelo's David, Venus de Milo and the bust of Nefertiti.

Where XR headsets are predominantly visual, haptic gloves work through touch. When you touch a virtual object, the glove identifies it and creates vibrations.

Similar innovations are being made for people with hearing difficulties and low mobility.

Rehabilitation and training

VR headsets can make you feel like you're "there", wherever that may be – from medical training, which immerses participants in a lifelike operating theatre, to a virtual city for gamers.

This presents rich possibilities for training. We've already seen it used to prepare citizens for natural disasters – but it can also be applied to training and rehabilitating people with disabilities.

For instance, there are many accessibility issues for people on the autism spectrum. A 2019 survey of British heritage sites, for instance, showed that 29% of children with special needs felt unwelcome and 42% were made to feel uncomfortable.

Immersive environments can help people on the autism spectrum prepare for their visit and check for any issues surrounding accessibility. This could be used for any daily activity, as well as museums, galleries and other cultural sites.

The same applies to training related to social situations and interpersonal cues. Project VOISS, for instance, is a computer-based VR experience "where students move through social stories and are presented with social stories and social situations where they need to problem-solve interactions".

This, and other solutions like it, could provide a safe space for people on the autism spectrum to experiment, make mistakes and develop social skills in a low-risk environment.

Raising awareness

Raising awareness about disabilities is a tricky business. A person can know in principle the challenges that someone else faces – but it can often be abstract or forgotten altogether. Crucially, it doesn't always translate into empathy.

XR provides some exciting opportunities in this area. If you can literally see a simulation of what someone else experiences regularly, or all the time, then you're more likely to be empathetic towards them.

The use cases are varied – from AR apps that simulate different eye conditions to 360° films that show the world as it might be seen by someone on the autism spectrum experiencing sensory overload.

Take, for example, the Walk Through Dementia smartphone app developed by Alzheimer’s Research UK. This combines computer-generated environments and 360° video to show what it's like to experience the world with dementia.

Or there's Notes on Blindness, a VR companion to its feature film namesake. Both the film and the VR experience seek to capture filmmaker John Hull's blindness.

The VR version uses 360° video, binaural audio and 3D animations to immerse the viewer in a world with limited vision. Hull guides the viewer with spoken word. Part of the experience consists of the user focusing on blurry images and trying to decipher them.

We're not yet at the stage where awareness-raising XR is widely available – but innovations are constantly being made, and we're likely to see big strides over the coming years.

Conclusion

The possibilities for using XR to help people with disabilities are numerous. While some apps and experiences are already available, others are still at the prototype stage.

What we can predict is that these solutions will become more widespread, more scalable and – crucially – cheaper in the not-so-distant future.

Expand Reality is a specialist retailer of smart glasses and augmented reality devices. Want to explore our transformative tech in more detail? Visit our online store.