Accessibility
Accessibility in the realm of user experience (UX) is all about creating designs that welcome everyone, regardless of if they have a disability. Accessibility research in UX is important because it ensures that a product design doesn’t leave anyone out. By focusing on accessibility, we're not just making things work for people with disabilities, but we're also making the whole user experience better and more enjoyable for everyone.
Our lab has completed accessibility research in a variety of areas, including gaming and extended reality, with the goal of making those experiences more enjoyable for people with disabilities.
XR Accessibility Panel Discussion
This panel addressed the challenges users may face with extended reality (XR) systems and explored the meaning of accessibility in this context. Topics included broadening XR access for users with disabilities, heuristics for enhancing AR/MR experiences, inclusive design in the XR space, the role of behavioral and sensory accessibility, and applying best practices from other domains to XR.
Applying User Experience (UX) Methods to Understand Assistive Technology (AT) for Video Gaming
People with disabilities often need to use assistive technology (AT) to help reduce the disabling influence of many environments. Video gaming, one of the most popular forms of entertainment, is an area in which there are several commercially available AT devices that can help individuals with disabilities. Often AT is abandoned, due to lack of fit with user needs, difficulties integrating the technology into daily life, or difficulty with set-up or understanding how to use the device. User experience (UX) evaluation methods can pinpoint areas of difficulty people with disabilities may have with AT for gaming.