Evaluating Virtual Reality as a Tool for Empathic Modelling of Vision Impairment: Insights from a simulated public interactive display experience

Despite being situated in public spaces, public interactive displays (PIDs) are not always designed to be fully inclusive, particularly for people with vision impairments. Prototyping physical PIDs with accessible features can be time-consuming and there are ethical and safety barriers to navigate when recruiting appropriate participants for studies. While it is still important to represent this user group in the design process, empathic modelling can also be used to rapidly simulate some challenges people with disability might face when interacting with a system. Traditionally this method has been performed using physical props, however Virtual reality (VR) is a promising way to help amplify it due to its immersive nature. Despite this, its use as a tool for empathic design remains unexplored. Therefore, our work is aimed towards filling this gap through the evaluation of a VR prototype which simulates the experience of a visually impaired person interacting with a public interactive display. This work contributes design considerations for VR simulations to generate empathy towards people with vision impairment.