Leveraging Sensorimotor Realities for Assistive Technology Design Bridging Smart Environments and Virtual Worlds
Radu-Daniel Vatavu · 2023
Sensorimotor Realities are a newly introduced concept of a computer-based physical-virtual reality with distinctive quality dimensions with respect to virtual, augmented, mixed, and extended reality environments. In this landscape of computer-based environments, Sensorimotor Realities center on the user’s sensorimotor abilities that undergo mediation in the conjunction of ambient intelligence and physical-virtual worlds. In this work, we explore the application of Sensorimotor Realities to assistive technology and accessible computing research and practice. To this end, we conduct a targeted literature review of scientific contributions published at CHI, UIST, ASSETS, and VRST—four venues where assistive technology and accessibility research for smart environments and virtual worlds has been traditionally disseminated,—and show how they can be characterized from the distinct perspective offered by the conceptual space of Sensorimotor Realities. Moreover, we present design opportunities for assistive technology enabled by the dimensions of the Sensorimotor Realities conceptual space, accompanied by examples from the scientific literature.