VizioSim: Assessing the Impact of Simulated Visual Impairments and Environmental Adaptations on Daily Task Performance in Virtual Reality

The VizioSim research project is a scientific study focused on evaluating an immersive virtual reality (VR) tool designed to simulate visual impairments (VI) for disability awareness. The project uses VR technology to place sighted users in the perceptive position of visually impaired people, with the ultimate goal of promoting empathy and changing social behaviors. Purpose of the Research The primary objective of the study is to assess how simulated visual impairments and environmental adaptations impact user performance during representative tasks of daily life. While existing simulators often focus only on visual exploration, VizioSim integrates head and eye tracking with realistic manual interactions. This allows researchers to measure authentic behavioral adjustments when users encounter three specific types of impairment: blurred vision, central scotoma, and tubular vision. Additionally, the study aims to determine if specific environmental adaptations (such as lighting and contrast adjustments) can effectively mitigate the difficulties caused by these impairments. Experimental Methodology The study involves at least 66 adult participants with normal or corrected-to-normal vision. They are divided into three experimental groups to compare different conditions: • Group 1 (Control): Performs daily tasks in the virtual environment without any simulated impairments or adaptations. • Group 2 (Impairments Only): Performs tasks with simulated visual impairments but no environmental assistance. • Group 3 (Impairments + Adaptations): Performs tasks with simulated impairments while benefiting from environmental aids, such as homogeneous lighting (to reduce glare) and reinforced color contrast on salient objects like handles and doors. Participants navigate a virtual domestic environment, including a salon, kitchen, and laundry room, to complete chores such as programming a television, sorting colored laundry, and preparing a meal. Evaluation and Metrics To validate VizioSim as a scientific tool, the research team collects a combination of objective and subjective data: • Objective Measures: Includes execution time, success scores, physical displacements, and head rotation data recorded in real-time. • Subjective Measures: Participants complete the Igroup Presence Questionnaire (IPQ) to evaluate their feeling of immersion and the System Usability Scale (SUS) to ensure the tool is easy to use and credible. Expected Outcomes The research aims to confirm two primary hypotheses: first, that VizioSim's simulated impairments induce significant behavioral adjustments and perceptible difficulty (H1); and second, that environmental adaptations effectively reduce these difficulties (H2). If confirmed, these results will provide empirical evidence that VizioSim is a valid tool for sensitizing professionals and family members to the daily challenges of the visually impaired. Furthermore, the study expects to show that environmental modifications can significantly enhance the autonomy of people with vision loss, which could help influence future accessibility standards for older adults and people with disabilities.