"Hey Model!" - Natural User Interactions and Agency in Accessible Interactive 3D Models
This addresses accessibility challenges for blind or low vision individuals by enhancing interactive 3D models, though it is incremental as it builds on existing interactive model concepts.
The study tackled the limited detail in 3D printed models for blind or low vision users by exploring interactive 3D models with audio and conversational interfaces, finding that users prefer tactile exploration, touch gestures for audio labels, and natural language for clarification.
While developments in 3D printing have opened up opportunities for improved access to graphical information for people who are blind or have low vision (BLV), they can provide only limited detailed and contextual information. Interactive 3D printed models (I3Ms) that provide audio labels and/or a conversational agent interface potentially overcome this limitation. We conducted a Wizard-of-Oz exploratory study to uncover the multi-modal interaction techniques that BLV people would like to use when exploring I3Ms, and investigated their attitudes towards different levels of model agency. These findings informed the creation of an I3M prototype of the solar system. A second user study with this model revealed a hierarchy of interaction, with BLV users preferring tactile exploration, followed by touch gestures to trigger audio labels, and then natural language to fill in knowledge gaps and confirm understanding.