Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Decreasing stressfulness of learning orientation on the street (self.Blind)
submitted by Jannis-HPI-Projects
[removed]
KillerLag 4 points 3y ago
Microsoft has been working with something similar for a few years now (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/enabling-people-visual-impairments-navigate-virtual-reality-haptic-auditory-cane-simulation-2/) and there has also been some work done with virtual habituation with sounds (the ones I am used to is a room with projectors and speakers to simulate different levels of traffic and even subway systems).
It is interesting, although one major issue that kept coming up wasn't so much the sound, but the danger of vehicles. It helped some people to tone down their startle reflex, but even with people getting used to the sound of the vehicles and how they moved, we would have clients who wouldn't cross in real life, but could in virtual. The virtual is a safe environment, even with all the cars honking, there is no chance of a car hitting them. In real life, it helped when someone crossed with them for the first little bit, to help build confidence and to help assure they were correctly interpreting the traffic. This didn't happen to everyone, but I did find it seemed to come up more often with someone older who was also slower (both slower in reaction speed and slower in walking speed).
It is interesting, although one major issue that kept coming up wasn't so much the sound, but the danger of vehicles. It helped some people to tone down their startle reflex, but even with people getting used to the sound of the vehicles and how they moved, we would have clients who wouldn't cross in real life, but could in virtual. The virtual is a safe environment, even with all the cars honking, there is no chance of a car hitting them. In real life, it helped when someone crossed with them for the first little bit, to help build confidence and to help assure they were correctly interpreting the traffic. This didn't happen to everyone, but I did find it seemed to come up more often with someone older who was also slower (both slower in reaction speed and slower in walking speed).
DrillInstructorJan 1 points 3y ago
This is totally new to me, I had no idea!
Toning down the startle reflex is a nice way to put it. I have been accused of trying to make people jump so much they just get bored of it but that is not really the intention. Don't you find it's sort of inevitable? When people are new to this they're twitchy as hell, which is totally understandable. I know I was. But the only way to get them used to it is exposure, right? No psychiatrist would ever tell anyone to avoid the scary stimulus.
As a result I do wonder if blind people wander through their lives with a completely blunted sense of, er what's the right term, a completely blunted sense of OMGWTF.
I had no idea there was all this VR stuff. I just take them out on the real street and let them deal with it!
Toning down the startle reflex is a nice way to put it. I have been accused of trying to make people jump so much they just get bored of it but that is not really the intention. Don't you find it's sort of inevitable? When people are new to this they're twitchy as hell, which is totally understandable. I know I was. But the only way to get them used to it is exposure, right? No psychiatrist would ever tell anyone to avoid the scary stimulus.
As a result I do wonder if blind people wander through their lives with a completely blunted sense of, er what's the right term, a completely blunted sense of OMGWTF.
I had no idea there was all this VR stuff. I just take them out on the real street and let them deal with it!
KillerLag 2 points 3y ago
It isn't necessary for all clients to use a VR simulator, but it can be useful. Some clients can be exceptionally fearful, either from lack of experience (more common for someone congenital and over-protected) or someone who has had a bad experience (some older clients where cars have impacted them).
Ant5477 1 points 3y ago
I say just do it, you only live once and if he doesn’t except you then he isn’t the one you need to be with
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