Designing and Evaluating a VR Boxing Experience with Blind People

Virtual Reality (VR) offers immersive experiences through advanced interaction mechanisms and rich sensory stimuli but is often inaccessible to blind people due to its over-reliance on visual feedback. While prior work has investigated specific aspects of VR accessibility, there is little knowledge on how to design full, feature-rich VR experiences accessible to blind people. This paper presents the design and evaluation of a VR Boxing experience, developed through participatory design with an ex-professional boxer who is now blind. A user study with 15 blind participants explored their perceptions of the three-mode experience developed – Heavy Bag Training, Coach Training, and Combat – to inform the design of accessible VR experiences. Our findings highlight the importance of combining natural movement, rich auditory feedback, and well-timed guidance that also fosters user independence. Furthermore, they demonstrate the value of structured progression in complexity, while also opening opportunities for engaging spatial awareness and coordination training.