Accessibility and Virtual Reality

Presentation

Software and hardware development of virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) technology is well underway in 2017. These three dimensional experiences provide exciting opportunities to move beyond the conventional patterns of human computer interaction. However, these opportunities also pose many unanswered accessibility challenges. I believe people of all abilities should be able to fully enjoy and participate in these experiences immediately. In this presentation I will highlight successful applications available in the VR/AR marketplace that illustrate accessibility best practices via custom solutions. I will also review popular VR/AR applications that currently fall short of accessibility guidelines. My presentation will focus on what can be achieved via the specification of various non-existent accessibility application programming interfaces (APIs) on the current dominant development platforms. I will also highlight practical considerations for the universal design of hardware interfaces that are involved in these experiences.

Speaker Bio:

Thomas Logan has spent the past fifteen years assisting organizations to create technology solutions that work for people with disabilities. He resides in Brooklyn where he is co-organizer of Accessibility NYC (http://meetup.com/a11ynyc) ( http://meetup.com/a11ynyc ). His company Equal Entry (http://equalentry.com/) (http://equalentry.com (http://equalentry.com/)) focuses on "Contributing to a more accessible world" through evangelism and expert technology review and recommendations.

LinkedIn: thomaslogannyc (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomaslogannyc)

Twitter: @techthomas (https://twitter.com/TechThomas)

YouTube: Equal Entry Accessibility (https://www.youtube.com/c/equalentryaccessibility)