Immersive Simulation of Visual Impairments Using a Wearable See-through Display

Simulation of a visual impairment may lead to a better understanding of how individuals with visual impairments perceive the world around them and could be a useful design tool for interface designers to identify accessibility barriers. Current simulation tools, however, suffer from a number of limitations, pertaining cost, accuracy and immersion. We present a simulation tool (SIMVIZ) that mounts a wide angle camera on a head-mounted display to create a see-through stereoscopic display that simulates various types and levels of visual impairments. A qualitative user study evaluates the immersiveness, usability and effectiveness of SIMVIZ versus using a smartphone based simulator. SIMVIZ enables quick accessibility inspections during iterative software development.