BrightLights: Gamifying Data Capture for Situational Visual Impairments

Abstract

With the growing popularity of mobile devices, Situational Visual Impairments (SVIs) can cause accessibility challenges. When addressing SVIs, interface and content designers are lacking guidelines based on empirically-determined SVI contrast sensitivities. To address this, we developed BrightLights -- a game that collects screen-content-contrast data in-the-wild that will enable new SVI-pertinent contrast ratio recommendations. In our evaluation with 15 participants, we found significantly worse performance with low screen brightness versus medium or high screen brightness, showing that BrightLights is sensitive to at least one factor that contributes to SVI (screen brightness). Once validated for in-the-wild deployment, BrightLights data will finally help designers address SVIs through their designs.