Effectiveness Evaluation of a Remote Accessibility Assessment System for Wheelchair Users Using Virtualized Reality
By Kim, Jongbae; Brienza, David M.; Lynch, Robert D.; Cooper, Rory A.; Boninger, Michael L.; Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Vol. 89, pp. 470-479Publication Date: March 2008
Study undertaken to determine the value of the Remote Accessibility Assessment System (RAAS) in assessing a virtual environment’s accessibility by comparing its accuracy and efficacy to a conventional in-person method. The RAAS is a 3-dimensional (3D) image reconstruction technology designed to analyze accessibility of the target built environment in a virtualized reality. For the RAAS, three 3D virtual homes for people who use wheeled mobility devices were created for three exemplar participants using a manual wheelchair, a power wheelchair, and a scooter, repectively. For the conventional method, three houses were selected through an architectural firm whose clients had requested an accessibility assessment. The home environments were divided into potential problem areas such as entrance, hallway, stairs, bathroom, and living room. Each problem area was identified by several tasks that might be performed in it. Two architects specializing in accessibility participated in the study as evaluators, one using the RAAS method, and the other using the conventional method of visiting the client’s home. The evaluators were blinded to each other’s assessment. The two assessments were cross-tabulated, and the proportion of overall agreement was shown to be high (94.1%). Results concluded that virtualized reality and 3D reconstruction technology may provide an effective means to investigate the architectural features of a built environment regardless of the location of the client, home, or specialist.
Published by: W.B. Saunders Company, a division of Elsevier Health Sciences (Website:http://us.elsevierhealth.com)
American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Web Site: http://www.aapmr.org/ )
American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (Web Site: http://www.acrm.org )
This publication is included in the library of the National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC), accession number J54252
