1. h c
i d
Virtual Reality:
Creating Accessible
Virtual Worlds
Colson Rice
I694 Thesis Project Report
Human-Computer Interaction Design Program
School of Informatics & Computing
Indiana University at Bloomington
Advisors of Record
• Eli Blevis, Associate Professor of Informatics, Director of
the HCI/d Program, Instructor of Record
• Travis Brown, Associate Instructor
• Hoadan Tan, Associate Instructor
• Jordan Beck, Associate Instructor
Core HCI/d Faculty Advisors
• Jeff Bardzell, Associate Professor of Informatics
• Shaowen Bardzell, Associate Professor of Informatics
• Marty Siegel, Professor of Informatics
• Erik Stolterman, Professor of Informatics
2. Contents
Analysis Synthesis
Predispositions Research
Insights Concepts & Concept Systems Prototypes
Strategies
Observations
Literature
Collections
Exploratory
Appearance
Usability
Social Value
Technology
Enterprise
Predispositions are the things
we believe to be true at the
outset of a design process or
explanation.
Research comes in three
forms, namely (i) observa-
tions—or primary research,
(ii) literature review—or
secondary research, and (iii)
collections—or knowledge
about cultural forms.
Insights are the design issues
that arise out of research.
Concepts and systems of con-
cepts are the things, services,
communications, or strategies
that we envision in response
to insights.
Prototypes come in three
forms, namely (i) explor-
atory—or behavioral or
low fidelity prototypes, (ii)
appearance—or look and feel
prototypes, and (iii) usabil-
ity—or proof of concept or
high fidelity prototypes.
Strategies come in three
forms, namely (i) social
value—or social desirability
planning, (ii) technology—or
technological feasibility plan-
ning, and (iii) enterprise—or
economic viability planning.
3. Motivation
I feel that virtual reality is the field of the future. I think it will change the way people work, play, and
communicate with each other. I was an early adopter of the Oculus Rift, and I can see that there is so
much work to be done to even start shaping this field. We are on the frontiers of a new medium, and it’s
very exciting. I chose to work on the interface designs for virtual reality, because I could see myself work-
ing in, or with this field in the future.
4. “We forecast that AR/VR could hit $150
billion revenue by 2020, with AR taking
the lion’s share around $120 billion and
VR at $30 billion.” -Techcrunch.com
5. Of people interviewed have
experienced motion sickness
while wearing a virtual
reality headset.”
-Rice, Colson “Virtual Reality Survey” 4.07.2015
“100%
6. Who I’m Designing For
I want to make virtual reality more accessible to everyone. My
main focus though, is early adapters in the virtual reality
community, ages 18 - 35 that have extra time and money to
devote to this new field.
7. What I’m Designing For
I’m designing new technologies for the virtual reality community. I
am bringing interaction design to the field of virtual reality. I want
to help people, who would otherwise be turned away from the
field by negative experiences with virtual reality, have pleasant
ones. I want to make entry into this field easier for all users.
10. Predisposition One
THIRD PARTY MEANS EXTRA WORK FOR THE END USER
Third party developers are currently the main source of content
for the Oculus Rift. Users spend much of their time adjusting
their computers to work correctly with each new application
they download.
11. Predisposition Two
VIRTUAL HEADSETS ARE DESIGNED FOR 20/20
Although the Oculus Rift comes with a pair of lenses for near-
sighted users, that’s as far as they go for helping out the
visually impaired. If you wear glasses, prepare to go into the rift
blind, or with them smashed up against your face.
12. Predisposition Three
NO ONE KNOWS WHERE VIRTUAL REALITY IS HEADING
With several different companies tugging virtual reality in all
directions, it’s difficult to predict what might come of it.
There are several key issues we can focus on now though, such
as accessibility, preventing simulation sickness, and usability.
14. Research Observation One
SECOND LIFE
I performed an ethnography of a user playing “Second Life”
a popular massive multiplayer online role playing game, via
the Oculus Rift. The user was able to walk around and explore
different locations within second life. The user had trouble
with the movement controls, and quickly became nauseous. I
suspect this is partly to being blind to the keyboard, which is
key to getting around within the game. The user said he also
had issues finding the menus. I observed the user craning his
neck in various positions to locate menu items. He claimed that
while scrolling through the menus within the Oculus, he again
felt nauseous.
Image by: Colson Rice 3/24/2015
16. Research Observation Two
SCUBA DIVING
I performed an ethnography of a user “World of Diving” a
diving simulation game, via the Oculus Rift. The user was asked
to play through a few levels. I observed the user finding it dif-
ficult to locate, and remember the keyboard controls, as they
are blocked from the users field of vision while wearing the
Oculus Rift. After playing for a short while, about 15 minutes,
the user became acclimated to the controls, and was able to
explore the experience without constantly taking the Oculus off
to peak at the controls. The user seemed fully immersed in the
game. At one point, my dog came up to the user and nudged
his leg, which startled the user, as he gave out a short yelp. The
user never complained of any nauseousness.
Image by: Colson Rice 3/26/2015
18. Research Observation Three
A PAIN IN THE GLASS
During my observation of Karthik attempting to play “Second
Life” I first noticed that his glasses could not fit underneath the
headset. After this, I noticed that he needed help finding where
the keys were, since he had to use them to navigate. Karthik
soon complained of motion sickness, and thought it might have
been because of his blurry vision.
Image by: Colson Rice 4/18/2015
20. Video Synopsis: One
MICHAEL ABRASH “WHY VIRTUAL REALITY WILL MATTER TO
YOU.”
In his speech as the 2015 Facebook F8 conference, Michael
Abrash gives us an update on the state of virtual reality. The
majority of his speech was spent framing virtual reality as
reality. He starts us off by saying, “Reality is simply electrical
signals interpreted by the brain.” This seems to be an impor-
tant underlying assumption, Facebook, and competitors wont
simply be designing for virtual reality, but reality itself.
After framing what reality is, he goes on to explain where vir-
tual reality is at now, and where he thinks it will be in the near
future. He says that VR has, “Implications for work, gaming,
and social networking.” And will, “Change everything about the
way we live.”
Abrash, Michael. “Why Virtual Reality Will Matter to You” Screen shot. April 2nd,
2015. Education Fair Use Only https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDu-cnXI8E8.
“Our conscious minds never really reacts with the real world.”
21. Video Synopsis: One
MIKE ALGER “VR INTERFACE DESIGN MANIFESTO”
This manifesto is meant to start the conversation about VR.
Mike delves into several possibilities of which he thinks VR
might go, and explores what companies in the field are doing
now. He also tries to envision what the not so distant work
environment will be like with virtual reality. He questions what
screens will look like for VR desktops, where menus will be
found, and what types of inputs people will use to interact with
their computers.
Alger, Michael. “VR Interface Design Manifesto” Screen shot. April 5th, 2015. Education Fair
Use Only https://vimeo.com/116101132
“Some people who were web designers before will need to learn to
be environment designers, and really will have to find out a lot about
what architects and interior designers have already learned.”
22. Research: Secondary Research
A FIELD OVERVIEW
Reason for Inclusion:
According to techcrunch.com, VR could hit $150 billion dollars
in revenue by the year 2020(1). This, along with major players
throwing in their lot, such as Sony, Facebook, Samsung, and
Microsoft, the field of virtual reality is set to expand rapidly.
The field is divided between productivity tools, games, and
virtual experiences.
(1)http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/06/augmented-and-virtual-
reality-to-hit-150-billion-by-2020/
23. Research: Secondary Research
A FIELD OVERVIEW (CONTINUED)
There is an undercurrent of cheaper technologies that are set
to come to market. These companies are selling a similar expe-
rience for a fraction of the cost. These include Google Card-
boad(1), Wearality(2), VISR(3), and Archos(4). Some hackers
are putting together Virtual Reality goggles by themselves(5).
(1) https://www.google.com/get/cardboard/
(2) http://venturebeat.com/2015/04/06/wearalitys-virtual-
reality-goggles-may-look-dorky-but-theyll-be-cheap-at-69/
(3) http://www.technobuffalo.com/2015/02/01/kickstart-this-
super-cheap-and-super-durable-vr-headset/
(4) http://www.androidcentral.com/archos-vr-glasses-are-
cheap-and-will-work-most-android-smartphones
(5) http://gizmodo.com/notculus-rift-how-i-hacked-together-
my-own-serious-vr-1688354373
24. EXEMPLARS
MIT. “Vision Correcting Displays.” Screenshot. April 15th, 2014. Education fair use only.Vitor F. Pamplona, Manuel M. Oliveira, Daniel G. Aliaga, Ramesh Raskar. “Tailored Displays to Compen-
sate for Visual Aberrations.” Screenshot. April 15th, 2014. Education fair use only.
Tailored Displays to Compensate for
Visual Aberrations
These tailored displays, “enhance visual acuity by decomposing virtual objects and
placing the resulting anisotropic pieces into the subject’s focal range.”
Eyeglass-free display
The eyeglass free display is an iteration on the tailored displays. They use a piece
of hardware, attached to devices in order to blur the display into the user’s focal
range.
25. Research Collection:
DIFFERENT FACES
Below are four different people using the Oculus Rift. During
my research, I asked many different people to try on my Oculus
Rift, so I could observe how they interacted with it.
Collection and all photos by: Colson Rice assembled 4/28/2015
27. Insight One
A POORLY DESIGNED USER INTERFACE CAN MAKE USERS SICK
Screen clutter as well as rapid movements can lead to motion
sickness. The current trend in VR is to reduce latency, and in-
crease resolution to combat motion sickness, but a better user
interface could also lead to less motion sickness. While testing
users within “Second Life” an MMORPG which has recently
added support for the Oculus Rift, I observed users having
difficulty looking around the screen and focusing on the menu
items. It was hard for them to keep still while going through the
menus, and they were turning their heads while trying to read
the menu items. This caused a similar effect as reading in a car,
and quickly lead to motion sickness for the users.
28. Insight 2
ATTACHMENTS ARE LIMITED
With a flood of third party gear pouring into the world of VR,
it is difficult to find time to get the gear working. I observed a
user connecting a Leap Motion controller to an Oculus Rift, and
the entire process of setting up the device, to playing a game
took around 45 minutes. There needs to be an easier method
of attaching third party software to virtual reality devices, and
there also needs to be a better way to map these devices so
they can work with the software on the user’s computer.
29. Insight 3
WE NEED TO SEE THE KEYS TO NAVIGATE
Nearly every game out there for the Oculus Rift requires some
sort of keyboard input to move around. This is an enormous
problem since users cannot see their keyboard. While some us-
ers can try to remember where their keys are, and navigate the
world that way. Most of the time they slip up, and end up going
directions they didn’t intend to.
30. Insight 4
BLURRY VISION CAUSES NAUSEA
During testing, users who experienced the Oculus Rift who had
vision impairments, and could not use their glasses, com-
plained of discomfort, and nausea more quickly than those
with perfect vision.
32. Oculus Bridge
Each new piece of hardware made for the Oculus Rift, is only us-
able for certain games and programs. The Oculus Bridge is a piece
of software that would allow for users to map their hardware to
any game or software. Instead of a laser gun only being able to
be mapped to a game such as Duck Hunt, a user would be able to
map the laser gun as their mouse for their desktop.
33. Ethereal Keyboard
Users go into the rift blind of their surroundings. This causes
problems, when the program the user is using requires the use of
the keyboard. The ethereal keyboard uses hand tracking, along
with a mapped digital version of the user’s actual keyboard, to al-
low the user to see the keyboard while they are in the rift.
34. Virtual Glass
This application would allow the viewing experience within the de-
vice to be corrected to the users eyeglass prescription. The users
would no longer need to fit their headset over their eyeglasses.
36. WHY?
This concept was chosen after interviewees consistently com-
plained about needing to take off their glasses in order to put
on an oculus rift headset. Interviewees with the poorest vision
quickly became nauseous while experiencing virtual worlds. After
a thorough amount of secondary research, I found that vision
correcting software on screens was possible, and chose to pursue
this concept.
37. “Ouch... Nope! I think my
glasses are too big.”
Image by: Colson Rice 4/18/2015
39. Glasses are a hinderance to the virtual experiences. Wearing them
under virtual headsets causes them to smash into the users face,
and work incorrectly. The only other option for people who wear
glasses is to take them off, and experience a virtual world in which
they cannot see clearly. Virtual Glass is an application that causes
the screens within virtual headsets to mimic people’s eyeglass
prescriptions.
40. Meet “Virtual Glass.” Virtual Glass is an application which will run
on the Oculus Rift. It is designed to help people who wear glasses
to have pleasant, glasses free virtual experience. Virtual Glass cor-
rects displays for individual vision types, allowing users to see the
display as if they were wearing glasses, or contact lenses. Users
are able to input their own eyeglass prescription into the software
in order for the software to correct their display. Since most users
surveyed didn’t know their eyeglass prescription, users are also
able to take a vision test through the Oculus Rift. This vision test
shows the user an image, and scans through corrective filters,
until the user is able to see the image clearly. Once the user sees
the image as clear, they must click the “I Can See!” button for the
program to update their vision profile.
41. Landing Page
At this page, users may choose to either enter their eyeglass
prescription by clicking, “I Know My Prescription.” Or users may
take a vision test via the Oculus Rift by clicking, “Don’t Have
Your Prescription.”
42. Entering a Prescription
At this page, users may enter their eyeglass prescription, so the
application can adjust for their vision type.
43. Testing Page
At this page, users must decide whether or not they can see
this image clearly. If they can, it means they have entered their
eyeglass prescription correctly into the previous page.
44. Preparing for the Vision Test
This page is where users are asked to put on their Oculus Rift,
or other virtual reality headset, in order to take a vision test.
45. Vision Test
This page may be seen inside the Oculus Rift. Once the image
becomes clear to the user, they must click the, “I Can See!”
button, in order for the application to get an estimate for their
eyeglass prescription.
46. Exit Page
This page lets the user know that they have completed their
visual adjustments, and can now continue using the Oculus
Rift, or other headsets without wearing their glasses or contact
lenses.
48. Strategic Plan One
Future Improvements
After testing several users on my prototype, I found there were
areas that could be improved. Users expressed concern about
quickly changing back the vision on the oculus rift to a 20/20
setting. They said they would, “Like to have this option incase
a friend with perfect vision wanted to use the device.” Another
area of improvement would be to implement the same soft-
ware on the computers that the virtual headsets were plugged
in to. Since most use times only last around 15 to 30 minutes
before users get too nauseous to continue, they showed
concern about not being able to see as soon as they tool the
headset off.
49. Strategic Plan Two
Vision Convenience
A survey I sent out showed that, out of 40 people surveyed,
50% did not know their own eyeglass prescription. Another
12.5% did not know their entire eyeglass prescription. Future
strategies would need to find a better way to connect people
with their eyeglass prescription. Possibilities include partner-
ing with major vision centers like the Walmart Vision Center,
to make eyeglass prescriptions more widely available without
the need to call in, or visit the center in person. Another op-
tion would be to partner with Oculus Rift, and a major Vision
Center like Walmart’s in order to ship out headsets with user’s
prescriptions already on them.
50. Source Summary
I hereby note that I, Colson Rice, own all images within this
documentation unless explicitly shown otherwise. All images I
do not own have been cited, and are used under educational
fair use only.
51. h c
i d
Colson Rice
I694 Thesis Project Report
Human-Computer Interaction Design Program
School of Informatics & Computing
Indiana University at Bloomington
Advisors of Record
• Eli Blevis, Associate Professor of Informatics, Director of
the HCI/d Program, Instructor of Record
• Travis Brown, Associate Instructor
• Jordan Beck, Associate Instructor
• Hoadan Tan, Associate Instructor
Core HCI/d Faculty Advisors
• Jeff Bardzell, Associate Professor of Informatics
• Shaowen Bardzell, Associate Professor of Informatics
• Marty Siegel, Professor of Informatics
• Erik Stolterman, Professor of Informatics
Contact Information
colrice@indiana.edu