March 13, 2023
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Despite technology and design barriers, there is a future for using augmented reality as assistive technology for people with low vision. Optics Express.
Furthermore, the data revealed that 3D world-locked augmented reality (AR) visual cues were more informative than directional heads-up cues in navigating obstacles.
There are barriers in technology and design, but there is a future for AR as an assistive technology for people with low vision. Source: Adobe Stock
“[The study] It definitely proves that this kind of assistive technology has a future. ” Dylan R. Fox, MIMS, A UX designer at the University of California, Berkeley told Healio: “The results confirm the potential for improving people’s quality of life.”
Fox and colleagues utilized a HoloLens 2 headset and the Unity engine to target 20 people (mean age 46 years; 30% female) with moderate visual impairment.
Visual cues included a 3D world-lock cue that highlighted obstacles when the user was within 5 meters, and a heads-up cue that indicated the direction of identifying obstacles with a virtual indicator bar.
Researchers use obstacles such as hesitation, object contact, stumbling, high stepping, correction, experimenter intervention, and behavior modification to collect quantitative data on the effectiveness of the application in obstacle detection and avoidance. I noticed a navigation error in the course of things.
To provide qualitative user experience results on multiple aspects of the application’s effectiveness, study participants rated their experience with AR visual cues from -3 to 3 (0 (represents control, no headset)). Subjective user experience ratings were grouped by confidence, obstacle location, obstacle size, and awareness.
Fox and colleagues found that 3D world-locked visual cues were preferred by participants and were less disruptive to walking speed compared to directional heads-up cues.
In a post-study user experience study, world-locked cues received a median rating of 2 for reliability, 2 for obstacle location, 2.5 for obstacle size, and 1 for awareness. Conversely, heads-up cues received a median rating of 0 for confidence, 1 for obstacle location, 0 for obstacle size, and 0 for awareness.
Additionally, 60% of participants said they preferred world-locked visual cues at the end of the experiment.
“AR visual enhancement systems have great potential to support people with visual impairments that cannot be corrected with conventional glasses,” Fox and colleagues wrote in the study. “However, research into the technical requirements and visual design of these systems is just beginning.”
The co-author added: , combine visual cues with other forms of feedback such as tactile and sound. “
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Eric Henderson, OD, FAAO
The use of AR systems has increased significantly over the last few years as the technology has become more readily available. AR systems can improve the visibility of objects in the environment, so researchers hypothesized that AR could assist people with low vision.
Video game design and technology were adapted for use by people with low vision. Two of his strategies were studied: worldlock and heads-up. World-lock cues highlight existing objects in the environment, and heads-up cues alert individuals to the direction and proximity of obstacles.
The concept of AR systems in low vision has great potential to impact patients with various visual impairments found in clinical settings, but needs to be addressed to make the technology fully usable There are still some restrictions.
First, study participants had difficulty using AR headsets, sometimes with impaired mobility. Additionally, using both the World Lock and Heads Up strategies together proved to be overwhelming. Most importantly, it was too slow for the amount of incoming data to be used in real time.
So while the idea of AR in clinical practice is exciting, this study demonstrates the substantial technological advances needed to bring this concept to life.
Eric Henderson, OD, FAAO
Associate Optometrist
macquarie serine eye care
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Disclosure: Henderson reports consulting for Allergan.
