Towards Understanding the Capability of Spatial Audio Feedback in Virtual Environments for People with Visual Impairments

This research analyzes if and how the Head Related Transfer Function (HRTF) can be used to support effective Human-Computer Interaction when people in a Virtual Environment (VE) without visual feedback. If sounds can be located in a VE by using HRTF only, designing and developing considerably safer but diversified training environments might greatly benefit individuals with visual impairments. To investigate this, we ran 2 usability studies: 1) to ascertain whether the HRTF could provide sufficient position information in VEs; 2) to learn whether the HRTF could provide sufficient distance and direction information in VEs. The results showed that a continuous audio feedback could help navigate in a VE without vision feedback.